Floor retailer Carpetright fails to lay down sales
Wickes owner Travis Perkins said builders stocking up on kitchen and bathroom units ahead of the VAT rise early next year helped lift sales.
But it was a different story at floor retailer Carpetright, which blamed the timing of the snow and the lukewarm housing market for a 6.1 per cent fall in underlying sales for the 26 weeks to October 30.
Chief executive Lord Harris of Peckham said: 'The snow fell at the wrong time for us. People will not want to put carpets down now. We are hoping there will be pent up demand after the holidays.'
'Wrong time': Carpetright said its fall in sales was due to the timing of the snow and the lukewarm housing market
The shares fell 14p to 782p as first-half pre-tax profit fell to £9.8m from £11m and the dividend was held at 8p.
Earlier in the week Microsoft boss Bill Gates increased his stake in the firm to 6pc from 3pc, prompting Nick Bubb, an analyst at Arden Partners, to note 'some people have more money than sense'.
Travis Perkins (up 25.5p to 997.5p) saw group sales rise 6.5pc for the 11 months to the end of November.
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