Home furnishing retailer Dunelm saw a 37 per cent leap in first-quarter sales, as it benefited from both higher online demand for its products and in-store recovery following lockdown.

The company, which has stores in Gloucester and Cheltenham, said homewares have become more relevant to people in recent months, as they spend far more time at home.

It expects gross margin to be slightly positive for the year, as long as there are no further disruptions from Covid-19, as reported by Reuters.

Dunelm's sales for the 13 weeks to 26th September totalled £359.1 million. Online sales, which make up nearly a third of the company's total, were 12 per cent up on the previous year.