B&M's rapid expansion in the UK seems to have paid off, after it revealed strong sales figures for the run-up to Christmas.

UK like-for-like sales, which exclude sales from new stores, rose 3.9 per cent in the last three months, while overall group sales were up by 22.7 per cent. UK sales surged by 12.9 per cent to £837.3m.

While many companies are closing stores, the discount retailer opened 19 new shops in the 13 weeks to 23rd December, taking its total store openings for the financial year to date to 32.

It now has 569 stores in the UK, including two in Gloucester and one in Cheltenham.

B&M's sales figures show it has done even better than discount rivals Lidl  and Aldi. But strong performances for all three show there continues to be a lot of support for value retailers.

Simon Arora, Chief Executive, said: "B&M continues to go from strength to strength. Despite the demanding comparatives from the very strong Christmas in 2016, our buying, supply chain and retail teams achieved another outstanding performance this year by doing what we do best, which is delivering great value for customers week-in, week-out."