N Brown's H1 profits drop by £4 million

N Brown said that its operating profit increased by 6.7 per cent at its core home shopping business over the half year to August 28. However, profit before tax slipped from£25.1 million to£21 million.

The retailer's credit operation, House of Stirling, incurred a£4.2 million loss because of a significant rise in bad debts. In addition, N Brown's video rental business, Teleview, saw last year's£600,000 profit transform into a£200,000 loss. The latter division is in an advanced stage of being sold off.

N Brown chief executive officer Alan White said: 'Improvements to the fashionability of our clothing and footwear have driven the continuing recovery in the core business during the first half of the year, with footwear and corsetry performing especially well against the background of tough trading conditions.