Cold snap boosts pre-Christmas sales at Next

Retailer reports much better than expected data in December but remains cautious' about 2023

Next has upped profit forecasts for the year by 20m after better sales than expected in the run-up to Christmas, but said it remained cautious" about the year ahead.

The fashion and home retailer said sales had risen by 4.8% in the nine weeks to 30 December, well above predictions of a 2% fall, delivering 66m more sales than expected.