TED BAKER DIVES 10PC AS HIGH ST CRISIS BITES

TED BAKER shares fell 10pc after it posted what analysts said were ‘hugely disappointing’ figures.

Its retail sales, which includes its stores and online business, rose just 1.1pc to £220.1m in the 28 weeks to August 11, helped by heavy discounting, and profits fell 3.2pc to £24.5m.

Shares fell 10.1pc, or 232p, to 2076p as it said the second half of the year would be challenging.

Ted Baker also took a £600,000 hit after House of Fraser fell into administration in August.

Lee Wild, at Interactive Investor, said: ‘A 1.1pc increase is hugely disappointing. The numbers do not inspire confidence.’

George Salmon, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, added: ‘The group is clearly up against it for the rest of the year, and this will dampen investors’ spirits.’

But chief executive Ray Kelvin insisted he was not worried about the firm’s performance. ‘We’re not a High Street chain, we’re a brand,’ he said. ‘We only have 20 full-price shops on conventional leases in the UK.’

Overall, revenues grew 3.5pc to £306m as wholesale business sales rose 10.1pc to £85.9m.