Dunelm fails in its quest for a woman director

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In an unusual move, the company, which has only had one woman on its board since 2004, issued a statement explaining that the shortlist for the job contained equal numbers of men and woman.

However, it said Matt Davies, the outgoing chief executive of Pets at Home, was "clearly the best candidate" and was chosen.

Dunelm's comments raise questions about the quandary faced by firms in meeting Lord Davies' recommendation last year that FTSE 100 companies should aim to have a minimum of 25% female board-member representation by 2015.

The out-of-town chain made its comments on diversity as it posted a leap in half-year pre-tax profits. Dunelm, which floated at 172p in October 2006, grew pre-tax profits by 7.8% to £52.2 million over the 26 weeks to December 31, driven by a rise in underlying sales and margins. Like-for-like sales rose 1.1%, and total sales grew by 8.8% to £299.9 million, boosted by 11 new stores.

The shares gained 7.23p, or 1.5%, to 477.13p.