House of Fraser hit by "volatile" high street trading

House of Fraser today spread more gloom over the high street, with flat first-half sales blamed on “challenging” conditions.

Boss Nigel Oddy said factors including Brexit uncertainty and unpredictable weather created an “extremely volatile trading environment” in the six months to July 30. Sales stood still at £573.5 million and grew just 0.9% on a like-for-like basis.

In the eight weeks since, sales have fallen 2% with the “uncertain economic situation” seen continuing.

However, Oddy insisted the company's turnaround is on track and was confident on the second half, including the Christmas period, which generates around 85% of annual profit.

The firm hopes new brands, like Charlotte Tilbury and Hamleys, and store refurbishments will help it capitalise on the peak season.

By contrast, online fashion retailer Boohoo smashed forecasts, with first-half sales up 40% at £127.3 million and pretax profit more than doubling to £14.4 million.

It upgraded full-year sales growth forecasts to between 30% and 35%.