Fashion retailer White Stuff has called off its search for a strategic investor, as it revealed that like-for-like sales rose 15 per cent in the quarter to the end of July.

White Stuff chief executive Sally Bailey said total sales for the period had increased 46 per cent to£12 million and sales at its online business were up 78 per cent. She told The Daily Telegraph: “Our customers are yummy mummys; they are not thinking: ‘Do I buy a top or feed my family?’”

White Stuff sent out sale information to potential buyers in May, after its founders, George Treves and Sean Thomas, looked at opportunities to reduce their 80 per cent stake in the company. At the time, Bailey said the retailer was looking for a “minority investment from the private equity community”, but those plans have now been shelved.

Bailey said: “We’re doing so well that we are going to carry on alone.” She also denied that KPMG had not received sufficiently high offers. “We had a fair amount of interest and it wasn’t about any valuation,” she said.

White Stuff opens its 50th store in Cambridge next week. Bailey said that its previous target of having 75 stores in the UK within three years has been raised to 80.

White Stuff revealed revenues of£44 million and operating profits of£7 million in the year to the end of April.