Ted Baker boss can go up the aisle in style

Ray Kelvin, the founder of the fashion chain Ted Baker, is marrying his long-term girlfriend Clare this weekend and is almost more excited about that than the company's 12 per cent rise in profits last year.

"I'm really excited about the wedding," he exclaimed. "I've lost a lot of weight because she said I had to. And the business is going brilliant."

The wedding should go with a swing, given the 14 per cent hike in the full-year dividend to 23.4p a share – Mr Kelvin, the business's largest shareholder, picks up a cheque for £3.84m, somewhat dwarfing his 2010 pay packet of £521,000.

Ted Baker's sales grew 15 per cent to £216m in the past financial year with headline profits of £27.1m.

The strongest growth came from the United States, where store sales jumped almost 70 per cent to $34.9m. The 182 UK outlets increased sales by 9 per cent to £149m.

So far this year the group has opened its first shop in Japan and its first concession in South Korea.

It will also be opening shops on Brompton Road in London and Fifth Avenue in New York later in the year.