M&S hit with £300m loss following cyber attack
The British retailer expects online disruption to continue throughout June and into July as it will 'restart, then ramp up operations'
Print22 May 2025
M&S has reported that a recent cyber attack has cost the company in the region of £300 million for 2025/26, its latest financial results show.
The British retailer expects online disruption to continue throughout June and into July as it will ‘restart, then ramp up operations’.
According to M&S’s full year results for the 52 weeks ended 29 March 2025, it is ‘seeking to make the most of the opportunity to accelerate the pace of improvement of its technology transformation and have found new and innovative ways of working.’
Since the incident, Food sales have been impacted by reduced availability, although this is already improving, it added.
The company noted that it has also incurred additional waste and logistics costs, due to the need to operate manual processes, impacting profit in the first quarter.
Targeted cyber-attack
In a statement, Stuart Machin, chief executive, M&S, said: “Over the last few weeks, we have been managing a highly sophisticated and targeted cyber-attack, which has led to a limited period of disruption.
“We have tackled this head on with incredible spirit, teamwork and deep sense of responsibility as we prioritised serving our customers.
“It has been challenging, but it is a moment in time, and we are now focused on recovery, with the aim of exiting this period a much stronger business.
“There is no change to our strategy and our longer-term plans to reshape M&S for growth and, if anything, the incident allows us to accelerate the pace of change as we draw a line and move on.
“Over the last 140 years, M&S has overcome many challenges – testament to the longevity of this brand. This incident is a bump in the road, and we will come out of this in better shape, and continue our plan to reshape M&S for customers, colleagues and shareholders.”
‘Restart, then ramp’
In Fashion, Home & Beauty, online sales and trading profit have been heavily impacted by the necessary decision to pause online shopping, however stores have remained resilient, M&S noted.
This will also mean increased stock management costs in the second quarter.
Overall, its strategy remains the same and there is no change to its longer-term plans to reshape M&S for growth.
‘Strong trading momentum’
Despite this M&S entered the new financial year with strong trading momentum, with both Food and Fashion, Home & Beauty trading ahead of budget.
“Our Food business had another strong year as more customers chose to fill their trolleys with M&S food, more often. Our continuous investment in quality, value and innovation is paying off,” Machin added.
“We’ve outperformed the market over the past three years and I’m confident we will continue the momentum and grow a bigger, fresher Food business.”
‘Shopping list retailer’
Looking ahead, the retailer highlighted that it is aiming ‘to be the most trusted retailer’, with quality products at the heart of everything it does.
M&S Food is broadening its appeal by delivering a consistent drumbeat of innovation and quality upgrades, while continuing to invest in trusted value.
It said that it continues to progress towards being a ‘shopping list retailer’, focused on families, with the soul of a fresh market.
Read more: M&S delivers ‘strong’ first half results, building on performance of last year
© 2025, by ShelfLife reporter
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