Early sales result in strong December for retail

A "dazzling" final week of trading in the run up to December made the month the strongest in 2011 for the retail sector.

A combination of stores slashing their prices and shoppers rushing to take advantage of the early sales for their last minute Christmas shopping saw a 2.2 per cent boost in like-for-like sales over the month.

The publication of the strong figures boosted the markets on Tuesday, with Marks & Spencer and Debenhams showing 2 per cent and 10 per cent rises respectively.

However, the jubilant mood was not shared by all the big players in the sector.

Beleaguered multimedia retailer Game saw its shares slump a further 25 per cent following warnings that it was in danger of breaching a banking agreement, following a difficult Christmas trading period.