AO World boss John Roberts has blamed the government’s employment tax and wage rises for the retailer’s decision to move jobs to South Africa.

The electricals retailer has already offshored around 150 sales roles, saving £2 million, with annualised savings expected to reach £4 million, The Times reported.

A further 50 workers are expected to be recruited in South Africa by next March, as AO aims to move most of its customer contact operations overseas.

Roberts said the April 2025 rise in employer National Insurance contributions and above-inflation minimum wage increases had added £8.5 million to AO’s annual costs.

“The brutal truth is that these roles could have been in the UK,” he told The Times, adding: “We’ve got a political class that doesn’t understand business.”

The comments came as AO World posted record annual profits and unveiled fresh shareholder returns.

Revenue rose 11.4 per cent to £1.27 billion in the year to March 31, while adjusted profit before tax increased 16.1 per cent to £50.5 million.

Pre-tax profit more than doubled to £50.5 million, from £20.6 million the year before.

AO said it would return a further £20 million to shareholders through a £10 million special dividend and a £10 million share buyback programme.

The Bolton-based retailer said its performance was supported by market share gains across key categories, improved margins and tighter cost control.

Its post-pay mobile business returned to profit after improved commercial terms with network partners, while musicMagpie, which AO acquired in 2024, became profitable on an annualised basis following restructuring.

The retailer added more than 720,000 new customers during the year and moved from net debt of £35.9 million to net funds of £16.4 million.

However, AO warned that the external environment remained uncertain, with geopolitical volatility and inflationary pressure continuing to affect consumers and input costs.

The company said it expected profit before tax for the 2027 financial year to be in line with market expectations.