Bad weather sees a rush to Topps Tiles

The UK’s largest tile and wood-flooring specialist retailer reported robust sales yesterday as homeowners focused on indoor improvements during the recent wet weather.

By The Newsroom

Published 5th Jul 2012, 07:00 BST

Topps Tiles, which has 322 UK stores, reported a 2.1 per cent rise in like-for-like sales during the 13 weeks to June 30, compared to a 1.9 per cent fall last year.

The improvement came during the wettest April-to-June period on record, which benefited the retailer as its customers were more willing to work on DIY pro- jects.

The group, which reported a 23 per cent fall in adjusted pre-tax profits to £5.6m in the 26 weeks to March 31, said it is in line to meet full-year market expectations.

The current market estimate for adjusted pre-tax profit for the year to September 30 is £13m, compared to £13.9m last year.

The Leicester-based group, which also trades as Tile Clearing House, opened three new stores in the quarter and said it continues to target a total of 325 stores for the full year.

DIY Leicester