Shopfitters are enjoying a mini-resurgence, according to a report from sector research company Plimsoll.

The surge is largely the outcome of boom times this year at a group of about 45 companies that have collectively experienced a sales uplift of 27 per cent, as well as profits up from 1.5 per cent to 7 per cent over the period.

“Our summary of the market finds 60 per cent of companies in the sector in a surprisingly confident mood,” said Plimsoll senior analyst David Pattison. “With all the talk of a slowdown in the UK economy, the figures from this elite group of companies are really refreshing.”

The report revealed that capital investment levels in the industry are also rising, for the first time in five years.

However, less encouragingly, Plimsoll claimed that any continued downturn in the wider UK economy would result in a substantial number of shopfitters going to the wall.

In the Retail Week Top Shopfitters League (RW, September 7), McCue Interior Fitout Solutions, based in Northern Ireland, was omitted.

With a turnover of£16.5 million, it would have entered the league in joint 30th
position, alongside UNO Retail Solutions.