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THE HIGH STREET GIANT HALTED ORDERS ON ITS WEBSITE AND SAW EMPTY SHELVES AFTER BEING TARGETED BY HACKERS AROUND THE EASTER WEEKEND - WITH THE FALLOUT TO DRAG ON UNTIL JULY. 08:19, 21 May

2025 Marks & Spencer bosses have admitted the fallout from a huge cyber attack is expected to continue through to July and cost the company around £300 million. The high street favourite

was launched into turmoil after hackers targeted its systems around Easter, leaving online orders frozen and shelves empty. Customer personal data, which could have included names, email

addresses, postal addresses and dates of birth, was also taken by hackers in the attack. Chief executive Stuart Machin described the incident as a “bump in the road” and said he hopes the

company will come out “in a better shape”. The retailer confirmed on Wednesday morning that online sales and profits in its fashion, home and beauty business have been “heavily impacted”.

Disruption to online operations is set “to continue throughout June and into July as we restart, then ramp up operations”, it said. Article continues below JOIN THE DAILY RECORD WHATSAPP

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your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. However, it indicated that shoppers will see improvements over the coming weeks. It added

that clothing and home sales have been “resilient” in stores in recent weeks. Meanwhile, food sales were affected by reduced availability but the business stressed this is “already

improving”. The group has also reported “additional waste and logistics costs” after switching to manual processes following the attack. M&S said the incident is expected drag its group

operating profits down by around £300 million this year, but expects this to be reduced through cost management, insurance and other reactions. It has been reported that the business could

secure as much as £100 million from an insurance payout. Mr Machin said: “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. “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.” Article continues below It came as the company reported a higher-than-expected adjusted pre-tax profit of £875.5 million for the year to March, up 22.2% on the

previous year. The group was buoyed stronger profits in its food arm, which saw sales increase by 8.7% to £9 billion over the year. M&S revenues grew by 6% to £13.8 billion as a whole

for the year, as fashion, home and beauty sales grew by 3.5%.