Hugo Boss said it was "confident" of outperforming rivals in the luxury market this year as the German designer reported an 8 per cent rise in earnings to £245m last year. The 89-year-old company, owned by the private equity firm Permira, is the latest luxury brand to show that it is powering through the consumer downturn thanks to emerging markets, after recent robust results from Prada, Louis Vuitton and Hermès.

Former JJB chief faces fraud charge

The former chairman of retailer JJB Sports and his son have been charged by the Serious Fraud Office in connection with forgery and making misleading statements during their time at the sportswear chain, which collapsed last September. Sir David Jones, who left the retailer in 2010 and is best known for helping to rescue Next in the early 1990s, appeared before Leeds Magistrates' Court yesterday with his son Stuart.

Construction output up 0.9%

Construction firms ended a year-long run of decline in the final quarter of last year. Industry output rose 0.9 per cent between October and December, the Office for National Statistics said. Experts predicted that the bigger-than-expected rise increased the likelihood that the wider economy's 0.3 per cent decline over the same period would be revised upwards.