Home furnishing retailer Dunelm has predicted a fall of as much as £21 million in annual pre-tax profit, as it counts the cost of store closures.

The company, which has stores in Cheltenham and Gloucester, now expects pre-tax profit of between £105 million and £110 million for the year to 27th June, compared to £125.9 million last year, as reported by Reuters.

However, it said total sales in June had risen 20 per cent, as consumers returned to its shops. It also reported a record 105.6 per cent jump in online sales in its fourth quarter.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Dunelm had forecast full year profits of slightly above market expectations, on the back of higher online sales growth due to its newly revamped web shopping platform.

Social distancing measures within stores and distribution centres have led to extra short-term costs of around £150,000 per week.