Topps given hope after profits fall

Topps Tiles, which operates 320 stores and has a 26 per cent share of the market, saw underlying profits fall to £5.6m in the 26 weeks to the end of March, driven by a 4.7 per cent drop in like-for-like sales.

Sales at the start of the second half of its year were up by 4.5 per cent after April’s dismal weather put the focus back on home improvement projects.

However, the Leicester-based group, which also trades as Tile Clearing House, warned that trading conditions remain challenging and it was too early to say whether this marked the start of an improving trend.