Signet profits lose their sparkle

Jeweller Signet saw third-quarter profits fall sharply today as the slowdown in spending on the UK high street hit sales at its Ernest Jones and H Samuel stores.

Pre-tax profits fell from £7m (€10.2m) to £3m (€4.4m) in the 13 weeks to October 29 as like-for-like sales at Signet’s 601 stores in the UK dropped more than 8%.