Trench coat sales lift Burberry's UK revenues

The company led by Christopher Bailey posted double-digit retail sales growth in six months

Cara Delevingne and Kate Moss for My Burberry fragrance (Dan Medhurst) (Dan Medhurst)

Shoppers snapping up Burberry’s trademark £1,000 trench coats helped the luxury group’s UK revenues jump and softened the blow of a crackdown on bribery in China, which has weakened the British designer’s sales there.

The company, led by its former design chief Christopher Bailey, posted double-digit retail sales growth in the Americas and Europe in the six months to 31 March. Strong spending by both tourists and domestic customers lifted sales in the UK, Italy and France.

The 9 per cent revenue hike to £1.4bn will help appease critics who attacked Mr Bailey’s £27m pay package when he became chief executive last year. Burberry says his pay is in line with the chiefs of other luxury goods companies.

Lewis Sturdy of London Capital Group said Mr Bailey “may yet be proving his detractors wrong”, as Burberry “gains growth from the more mature markets of Europe and the US to offset weakness in parts of Asia”.

The company has felt the pinch from slower Chinese sales, following the crackdown on bribery which has hit sales of all luxury goods. However, Burberry’s sales in China and Korea grew slightly, while those in Hong Kong experienced a slight decline, hit by last year’s political protests. Mr Bailey said: “We anticipate external challenges will continue in the current year, but remain confident in our long-term strategy to build the Burberry brand and business globally.”

The company also benefited from favourable exchange rates. It said that if rates do not change, its 2016 profits would be boosted by about £50m.