DFS and Dunelm blame hot weather for shock profit downgrades

Furniture retailers buck a trend that boosted sales for many high street outlets

Britain's heatwave has hit sales at the homeware retailers DFS Furniture and Dunelm, compounding difficult conditions on the high street and forcing both companies to warn profits this year would be below expectations.

Shares in DFS tumbled 10% in early trading after it blamed the long hot spell for a big fall in orders and told the City that earnings in the current financial year would be lower than in 2017 - its second profit warning in just over a year. Dunelm cut its forecast further after issuing a profit warning in May.