Argos sales improve ahead of formal bids

British takeover target Home Retail reported improved trading at its Argos stores and a bigger-than-expected cash pile yesterday, a week before a deadline for bids.

Supermarket group Sainsbury’s and South Africa’s Steinhoff International are pursuing Home Retail, which said sales at Argos stores open for more than a year fell by 1.1% in the last eight weeks of its financial year to February 27, an improvement on a 2.6% drop for the year.

Chief executive John Walden said both bids were “interesting”, but Home Retail’s board needed to receive them before it could express a preference.