Leicester-headquartered retailer Next has sold land near Waltham Abbey, Essex, intended to be used to consolidate two Regional Distribution Centres.
The company purchased the land in 2021. Since then, the business has noted, Next’s plans for its Distribution Centre network have changed, with plans no longer in place to use the site. As a result, the company sold the land in a transaction which was completed on 21 November 2025.
The sale generates net cash proceeds after costs of £54.1m and an exceptional profit of £16.3m.
Next has said the additional cashflow increases the surplus cash available for shareholder distributions in the current year.
In the absence of any acquisitions or further share buybacks this year, Next is set to pay a special dividend of around £3.10 per share, with the £54m additional cash inflow to increase that dividend by 45p.
