The Hut Group has bumped up its sales forecast for the second time since it floated in September, citing strong Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.

The pureplay health and beauty and nutrition retailer said sales are now expected to reach between £1.57bn and £1.6bn by the year-end, up from expectations at the end of October of £1.48bn to £1.52bn.

This would be a 38-40% increase year on year and has been driven by strong customer acquisition in the fourth quarter due to sales events like Singles’ Day and Black Friday. 

In terms of its fourth quarter, The Hut Group forecast sales growth between 40% and 45% year on year. 

The Hut Group said it added 1.7 million new customers to its platform in November, over half of which joined during Cyber Monday. 

It said its sales upgrade was also underpinned by both strong existing customer retention and average basket sizes. 

While its year-end sales forecasts were edged up, the group said it still expects year-end profit before tax to be “stable” and in line with third-quarter forecasts. 

The Hut Group will update the City on fourth-quarter trading on January 12.

After months of speculation, the business successfully completed a £1.88bn float in mid-September, which valued the business at £5.4bn.