Carpetright chairman and chief executive Lord Harris has reaffirmed his belief that trading conditions are improving.

The tycoon said in his AGM statement that the year had been challenging but he was “more confident about the future for a number of reasons”.

He said: “We have seen our principal nationwide competitor, Allied Carpets, enter into administration and significantly reduce its number of stores.

“We are securing more insurance business each week and have secured contracts to supply a number of house builders.

“We have a central warehouse and cutting facility which has the capacity to significantly increase volumes at minimal additional costs.

“Finally, the mortgage approval data is providing an indicator that the market will be stronger in the spring of next year.

“All these factors make me cautiously optimistic ahead of our important Autumn trading period, although it is too early to say to what extent this will impact on the full-year financial results.”

The retailer did not release a trading statement because it issued a first quarter update five weeks ago.

Topics