Sales of 4x4s accelerate for Jaguar Land Rover

JAGUAR Land Rover has sold more than 100,000 of its luxury 4x4s in just three months for the first time.

The Indian-owned car giant said its Land Rover arm sold 100,900 vehicles in the 12 weeks to the end of June, up 4pc on last year, amid strong demand for the Discovery Sport, Range Rover Evoque and Range Rover Sport.

The company also saw Jaguar sales accelerate 76pc to 31,800 year-on-year, driven by new models such as the F-PACE ‘She-Type’ which is aimed at women.

Launched in April, it has become fastest-selling Jaguar in history, designed with women and families in mind to be ‘stylish and practical’.

Chief executive Ralf Speth said a 10pc boost to second quarter revenues to £5.5bn reflected a ‘positive customer response’.

But profits in the UKbased company tumbled 37pc to £399m, partly due to heavy investment in research. It also said it was hit by a foreign exchange impact after the Brexit vote due to falling sterling.

Overall car sales were up 17.8pc year-on-year, with about 80pc sold outside the UK – including strong sales in China.

It comes after the firm earlier this month revealed it had experienced its best ever July, with sales up 34pc to 44,486 vehicles. STRUGGLING Frankie & Benny’s owner The Restaurant Group has admitted pricey food has driven diners away from its chain of family-friendly eateries.

The group suffered heavy losses and revealed plans to axe 33 underperforming sites as it faces competition from the likes of Nando’s and Wagamama.

It said removing ‘popular dishes’ from its menus had led to a fall in visitors, and ‘significant’ price increases had lost it value-conscious customers.

Like-for-like sales were down 3.9pc, and the group reported a pre-tax loss of £22.5m for the first half of the year.

Chairman Debbie Hewitt, who joined the firm in May, said it had been a ‘challenging trading period’ for the brand which launched in 1995 and became a favourite with families.

But despite announcing the closure of 14 Frankie & Benny’s restaurants, she said the chain remained ‘relevant and popular’.

And Mexican-themed Chiquito stores are also on the chopping block, with 11 restaurants set to close along with eight other sites. The group will also look at the prices and menus at Chiquito, and its other brands Coast To Coast, Joe’s Kitchen and Garfunkel’s.

Shares were up 3.6pc or 14.6p to 422p.