Womenswear retailer Hobbs has posted EBITDA up 4.9% to £15m full-year to January 28 2012 despite a “challenging” market.

The chain, which sells the NW3, Hobbs London, Hobbs Unlimited and Hobbs Invitation sub-brands said that turnover grew 7.4% to £112.2m.

Hobbs chief executive Nicky Dulieu said: “The Hobbs brand and fashion labels provide our customers with affordable contemporary British designed collections and high quality fabrics, all with the implicit reassurance of craftsmanship and attention to detail.

“2012 is a challenging year for all retailers but we are passionate in the belief that we have a strong and differentiated offering for our customers.”

Hobbs said that its gross margin remained robust in a highly promotional and cost inflationary environment because of the benefits of scale.

During the full-year period, the retailer secured £13.3m of investment from its private equity backer 3i and completed a £32.5m external refinancing deal with Barclays and the Co-operative bank.

At the time of securing the investments, Hobbs said it would use this funding to increase the footprint of its stores in order to house its new Hobbs Invitation range, which it launched earlier this year, as well as expanding its presence internationally.

Earlier this month Hobbs said it was set to appoint corporate advisor PricewaterhouseCoopers to look at growth opportunities for the business over the next two years including the launch of local language websites and possible international store openings.

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