Rent-to-own electricals and furniture retailer BrightHouse has revealed EBITDA rocketed 21.8% to £20.7m in its first half.

Like-for-likes were up 6.7% in the six months to September 30, while revenue climbed 16.3% to £127.2m.

The retailer opened 15 new stores in the period, taking its portfolio to 243. It will open 25 new stores over the year in total.

BrightHouse said pre-Christmas trends indicate that Philips and Samsumg Smart TVs will sell well this festive period, as well as Blackberry, the Acer Iconia Tablet and Nintendo 3DS.

BrightHouse chief executive Leo McKee said:  “In these challenging economic times, our half-year results reflect continuing strong demand for our products and services.

“It is encouraging that both our existing and our new stores are contributing to robust growth. In the current year, BrightHouse will have created some 300 new jobs.

“We will continue to focus on customer service and on extending our footprint across the UK. Our growth will continue to be underpinned by generating cash flow from operations and by a solid balance sheet.”