The parent company of fashion and home retailer, The White Company, saw profits drop by 8.5 per cent to £19.5 million.

The fashion retail group, Bectin, which also owns menswear retailer Charles Tyrwhitt blamed the fall in profits on the highly competitive retail environment, as reported by Retail Gazette.

Profits at The White Company itself, which has a store in Cheltenham, fell by 33 per cent year-on-year to £17.6 million, since opening stores in US and Ireland.