First-half trading in line with expectations
Land of Leather has bucked the gloom in the furniture sector, reporting today that first-half trading was in line with expectations.

Sales orders at the leather furniture retailer, which floated in July, were up 30 per cent and like-for-like sales were up 7 per cent for the 26 weeks to October 2.

Chief executive Paul Briant said: 'This performance demonstrates that we are able to make good progress, even in today's more challenging retail environment.'

The high street furniture sector has been deteriorating in recent months, with Furnitureland calling in the administrators and rivals Courts and Klaussner both collapsing earlier this year.

Retail analyst Investec, which acts as a broker to the company, said: 'Land of Leather's first trading period was not an easy one. The positive sales performance is indicative of a strong retail proposition, emerging scale and management depth.'