Jysk made a pre-tax loss of £1.9m in its first five months of operating in the UK due to the impact of start-up costs but said trading is “very good”.

In the five months to August 31, 2008, the UK arm of the Danish furniture giant made sales of £1m in its four UK stores.

UK manager Steve Stenhouse said: “We’re faring better than our competitors. The change in currency is not having a big effect on us because we struck deals last year. Sales are growing on a weekly basis.”

Stenhouse said Jysk needs to add to its stores in Blackburn, Lincoln, Mansfield and York in order to make a profit and is “in negotiations for a number of sites”.

He said: “This is a long-term strategy. We want to build the brand.”

Parent company Jysk Group, which said that the UK losses were “anticipated”, generates a turnover of e1.4bn (£1.3bn) a year from 1,200 stores worldwide.