John Lewis highlights £29m EPR costs as losses deepen

The projected packaging fees contributed to a £34 million loss before tax and exceptionals.

In its half-year results, published today (11 September 2025), the Partnership – which owns Waitrose and John Lewis – said it had recognised the full annual cost of the packaging levy in its interim accounts.

Chairman Jason Tarry said the business remained confident of delivering profit growth for the full year despite the new cost pressures.

He commented: “While we are reporting a loss in the first half, we’re well positioned to deliver full year profit growth, which we’ll continue to invest in our customers and Partners.”

The group reported sales of £6.2 billion in the first half, up 4% year-on-year, with customer satisfaction at record levels.

At Waitrose, adjusted operating profit slipped to £110 million, down £3 million, after £22 million in additional pEPR and NICs costs.

John Lewis recorded an adjusted operating loss of £53 million, with £7 million attributed to the levy and NICs.

Extended Producer Responsibility costs

John Lewis’s disclosure follows growing warnings from across the retail sectors about the financial impact of pEPR.

The Bank of England has recently identified the levy as a factor contributing to food price inflation, estimating it could add “a little over 1.5%” to prices if fully passed through.

In March 2025, environmental compliance scheme Ecoveritas warned that UK businesses that failed to submit their reports on time could be hit by “unnecessary costs” and financial instability.

The main cost for EPR “producers” in 2025 will be the payment of the base fee, expected to be invoiced in October by PackUK, the Scheme Administrator.

Defra released the final base fees in June 2025 alongside a Regulatory Position Statement.

A full list of anticipated payment values for local authorities across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales was also released.

The payments – most of which are in the millions – will be made to local authorities in November this year.

The government has said that the funding should be ringfenced to improve recycling and waste services.