Upmarket department store Selfridges broke through the £1bn sales barrier in Britain for the first time last year.

The retailer’s operating profits were up 5% to £133m in the year to January 2012, figures published this week are expected to show.

Selfridges operates a flagship store on Oxford Street as well as shops in Manchester and Birmingham. It also sells online.

Paul Kelly, managing director of Selfridges Group, which also owns stores in Ireland, Canada and the Netherlands, told the Sunday Times that the British arm had enjoyed “several years of continued growth” because of investment in the stores.

The retailer plans further investment, with a revamp of the men’s and women’s clothing departments in London expected.

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