Carpetright warns of annual loss amid UK consumer spending squeeze

Another home furnishings firm feels effects of falling consumer confidence

More high street store closures could be on the cards after Carpetright warned it would slump into the red this year and said it was asking its banks for help to ride out the financial storm.

The floor covering chain's third profit warning in four months comes the day after Toys R Us and Maplin, two of the high street's best known retailers, went into administration, casting doubt over the future of 5,500 jobs and 300 stores.

Like-for-like sales have become the benchmark in the City for judging the current performance of retailers. Typically represented as percentage growth rates, like-for-like sales measure sales at stores that have been open for at least a year, stripping out the impact of sales at newer stores. The idea is that they allow a more transparent comparison of a retailer's sales performance over a certain period of time, when compared with the same period of time a year earlier.