Online business might be growing 25 per cent at Matalan, but its overall revenue is down 1.2 per cent on the same period last year.

It might not sound like much, but when your overall revenue comes in at £311.7 million a little suddenly becomes a lot.

Results for the retailer, which has a store at The Olympus Centre in Quedgeley, and closed its Cheltenham operation in autumn last year, are for the period to the end of November.

Earnings before tax and other charges was also down, by more than £6 million to £33.7 million.

Most encouraging then was the online growth, which helps explain its chief executive Jason Hargreaves' comment, that it is "more important than ever to evolve".

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