The UK’s largest sportswear retailer now expects headline profit before tax and exceptional items for the year ended January 29 to be about £940 million ($1.15 billion), and estimates profit for the current financial year to at least equal that.

Next, which trades from about 500 stores and online, said on Thursday its full price sales rose 21.3 percent in the 13 weeks to April 30, its fiscal first quarter, driven by a very weak comparative in 2021 when most of its stores were closed in a Covid-19 lockdown.

Sky News reported this week that Reebok-owner Authentic Brands Group was exploring a bid for Ted Baker, after the fashion retailer put itself up for sale earlier this month.

The group said Primark has been unable to fully offset the cost pressures it is facing with savings and so will implement selective price increases across some of its Autumn/Winter stock from August.