A fashion brand with stores across Gloucestershire has posted some good news for the high street - a surge in underlying profits.

A product review and an on-going restructure are hailed as key reasons high street chain New Look has been able to reveal a rise in underlying profits of 19 per cent to £14.4 million.

Not all of the figures are quite so rosy. In a sign of just how hard it is in retail and just what promoted the aforementioned review and restructure New Look said revenues for the 13-week period to June 23 fell 2.7 per cent to £329.4 million.

New Look, which has stores in Gloucester's Brunswick Road, Cheltenham High Street, Stroud's Merrywalks Centre and Cricklade Street in Cirencester, said like-for-like sales dropped four per cent. Although this was an improvement on the 8.2 per cent fall in the first quarter of the previous year.

Earnings before tax were up 1.5 per cent to £27.6 million.

Click to collect sales were said to have risen by 40 per cent year-on-year and the store also said it had achieved £70 million in annualised cost savings during the last quarter with in its sites.

The figures come against the backdrop of the retailer also launching a Company Voluntary Arrangement after an operating loss in its last financial year of £74.3 million.

The turnaround plans include shutting 60 stores affecting almost 1,000 jobs.