Next chief executive Lord Wolfson has sold £3.8m of shares to help pay for his wedding and new home.

According to the Daily Telegraph he said: “I sold pretty much straight after our [annual] results, so when the market had the maximum amount of information, I only sold 7% of my holding, and I’m just about to get married, so I’m looking to move house.”

Next month, Wolfson is due to marry Eleanor Shawcross, an advisor to George Osborne and the daughter of the author William Shawcross.

His current home is located in Bedfordshire and he is now believed to be looking in London.

Next’s first quarter brand sales edged up 1.4% despite its declining retail performance, the retailer revealed yesterday.

Total retail sales dropped 3.9% with like-for-likes estimated to have dropped 6.8% in the 13 weeks to April 28. Directory sales drove performance, increasing 11.8%.