John Lewis Partnership saw sales and customer satisfaction rise in its first half.

But the group, which also owns Waitrose, posted a loss before tax and exceptionals of £34m for the 26 weeks to July 26, as reported by Retail Gazette.

Sales were up 4% to £6.2bn across the group, which has a John Lewis store in Cheltenham and Waitrose stores in Cheltenham, Stroud and Cirencester.

Customer numbers were up 4% and the My Waitrose membership rose by 6% and My John Lewis membership increased by 13%.

Both John Lewis and Waitrose outperformed their markets during the half, with overall customer satisfaction hitting its highest level.

Waitrose delivered record sales of £4.1bn - a rise of 6%. It attracted 9% more customers than two years ago, boosted by store upgrades and investment in quality food and digital systems.

And John Lewis sales were up 2% to £2.1bn.

The partnership invested £191m over the period, focusing on store refurbishments, digital services and supply chain upgrades.

The reported loss was largely due to costs which weren't there the previous year, including higher National Insurance contributions and £29m from the new Extended Producer Responsibility packaging levy. On a like-for-like basis, the loss was broadly similar to 2024.

Retail experts say it is likely John Lewis was boosted by the cyber-attack on M&S, which left its online functions unavailable from April to June and hit stock on shelves.