Slow growth for flooring company

The group, which has around 600 outlets in the UK and Ireland, said that recent weather conditions impacted on trade in the 13 weeks to January 30, with like-for-like sales ahead by 2.3 per cent, compared with 3.9 per cent in the previous six months.

While Carpetright is hopeful it will recover some of this lost trade in the coming weeks, shares fell 4 per cent on disappointment at UK trading.

The stock has enjoyed a strong run in recent months because of improved trading conditions and following the demise of competitors such as Allied Carpets.

In contrast to the UK, recent trends in the Netherlands and Belgium were encouraging after a 3.7 per cent drop in like-for-like sales. This was better than the 3.9 per cent decline reported for the previous six months.

Chairman and chief executive Lord Harris said he was pleased with the overall performance of the group, adding that UK like-for-like sales in the early part of the quarter were ahead by double-digits.

As well as benefiting from the recent revival in the property market, Carpetright has secured steady streams of new business from housebuilding and insurance firms.

Lord Harris added: "While we remain cautious about our market in the balance of the financial year, we continue our drive for sustained growth and our expectations for the full year are unchanged."