Christmas sales were up at discount retailer, B&M, after a difficult November.

The retailer, which has a store in Cheltenham and two stores in Gloucester, posted a 1.6 per cent fall in UK like-for-like sales, mainly due to a challenging November.

But things turned around for B&M in December, with an increase in UK like-for-like sales of 1.2 per cent. The company said the improved trading has continued into January.

The company as a whole, which also owns a number of international brands, reported a 12.1 per cent increase in sales over the Christmas trading period, as international sales growth offset a decline in the UK.

Total group revenue rose to £1.09 billion for the 13 weeks to 29th December, up from from £969.8 million during the same period the previous year.

Simon Arora, chief executive, said: "Despite the broader economic uncertainty over the last quarter, B&M is on track to deliver a record year for both sales and earnings, representing our fourteenth consecutive year of profit growth.

"The business' ability to manage profitability through uncertain trading conditions is testament to the resilience of the business model and the strong operational controls we have in place. We continue to open new stores and win market share when other retailers are retrenching."

B&M plans to open a further 13 stores in the last three months of the financial year.