High street witnesses small revival

Signs of recovery on the high street are appearing with the release of the results from John Lewis. The department store group reported an increase in sales of 18.9 percent in the week ended 1 April. Total group sales rose 20.5 percent. "Last week produced a really encouraging result and, even allowing for the distorted comparisons with Easter and Mother's Day last year, we still produced a comfortable turnover. Sales in shops were also strong with a definite southern bias."

Meanwhile, Peter Jones in London posted a surge in sales of 30 percent and noted that Oxford Street "also traded at a cracking pace". The company added, "School holidays are starting and by the end of April, the comparisons will have started to settle down. However, our underlying performance looks encouraging."