Bloodbath on High Street after profit warnings

GRIM results sent shares in a number of FTSE 250 companies plummeting as much as 50pc.

Investors’ nerves were shot as flooring specialist Carpetright and funeral services firm Dignity issued profit warnings.

Budget fashion retailer Bonmarche also reported dismal Christmas sales.

Shares in Carpetright crashed by 39pc, while Dignity plunged by 50pc. Bonmarche fell 17pc.

The hit to Carpetright’s share price has wiped more than £40m off the company’s value.

Analysts said the firm’s trading, which dropped 3.6pc in the 11 weeks to January 13, should be a ‘stark wake-up call’ for the retailer which also dramatically slashed its profit guidance for the year. Carpetright said fewer customers on the High Street and volatile trading at its European operations had hit business.

Dignity revealed full-year results were likely to be far lower than predicted. It has been battling for business from the likes of Co-op Funeralcare, which cut prices in September.

Visits to Bonmarche’s High Street stores slumped by 9.7pc in the 13 weeks to December 30 – the worst figures from a clothing retailer so far this year.

Honor Strachan, a retail analyst at Global Data, said the firm had ‘missed the mark’ on appealing to its older demographic, with these customers likely to have shopped with retailers like M&S instead.