M&S to reveal sales growth

Marks & Spencer is expected to deliver its first Christmas sales growth for two years when it unveils its third-quarter trading update on Wednesday.

The high-street bellwether is tipped to report that like-for-like sales, including clothing, were about 1 per cent higher than last year, when sales slumped by 7 per cent.

The small single-digit rise will still be regarded as lacklustre by the City given that it comes on the back of two years of falling sales. But M&S is expected to point out that last year it held two “mega-days” offering big discounts that were not repeated this year.

It will also inevitably draw attention to the fact that its figures, which cover the 13-week period to December 26, do not include the post-Christmas sales. They do, however, include online sales made on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.