New jobs vow at 99p Stores as profits jump

99p Stores, the single-price retailer, has vowed to create 3,000 new jobs over the next two years after it delivered an uplift in annual profits.

The chain said around two million customers now shop at its 194 stores a week, of which "professionals and the perceived middle class" comprise nearly a third – a fourfold increase in the last two years.

It plans to add more than 100 new stores over the next 24 months, taking its total number of outlets to around 300 and swelling its workforce by about 3,000.

The retailer posted a 14 per cent leap in pre-tax profits to £7.2m over the year to 31 January, on turnover up 17 per cent to £270m.