Sales at rent-to-buy specialist BrightHouse jumped 18 per cent in the first quarter and like-for-like growth was in double digits.

BrightHouse chief executive Leo McKee attributed the bulk of the improvement to better retail disciplines, such as higher availability, rather than the impact of the credit crunch on his low-income customers, who pay by weekly instalments.

The 168-store retailer is now accelerating expansion and pushing out of its Northern heartlands into the south of England. By the end of the present financial year, BrightHouse will have opened a further 25 shops and another 30 to 40 are likely to launch next year.

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