Specsavers bullish after record year

Specsavers posted a record 17.6 per cent increase in turnover for the financial year March 2008 to February 2009. The company claimed its growth was down to 'customers voting with their feet' during the credit crunch.

Specsavers said it carried out 5.9 million eye examinations in 2008, of which 70 per cent were on the NHS. It added that it had already performed 3.1 million eye examinations this year, and it expected to surpass last year's figures. The company also reported that UK and Ireland market share rose to 38 per cent and that it planned to open nearly 200 stores in the coming year - 35 in the UK and the rest overseas.