England’s flops fail to spoil recovery at JJB

JJB is trying to reposition itself as the go-to place for the serious sportsman, a gap in the market it feels rivals Sports Direct and JD Sports are missing.

It had hoped that a good run in the tournament by England would encourage fans to become players and stock up on kit.

That didn't happen, but JJB says sales are still recovering.

In the six weeks from May 24 to July 4 they were up by 22.3%, a sharp rise that shows just how poor revenues were last year.

The business has spent much of the past two years battling for survival.

It came close to going into administration before shareholders rode to the rescue with a £100 million rights issue in October that allowed the retailer to pay off its debts.

JJB, which sells England replica kits, said profit margins over the same period had also increased 43.9%.

England lost 4-1 to Germany in the first knock-out stage of the World Cup on 27 June.

JJB also revealed that sales at its newly-refitted Slough store had increased by 9% above the company average.

The company's sale began on July 1, 10 days later than a year ago.

The shares added 0.75p to 13.75p, leaving the company valued at £90 million.