Topps Tiles, which had previously reported that political and economic uncertainty in the run-up to December’s general election had impacted trading, said challenging conditions had persisted and retail like for likes in the eight weeks to February 22 slid 5.5%.

It reported: “With most of the period complete, the group now expects that first-half profit will be significantly below the prior-year level.”

As a result, full-year performance is expected to be “materially below the bottom end of the current range of market expectations”, which was for adjusted profit before tax of £13.5m to £14.5m.