John Lewis profits surge

A World Cup boost for sales of televisions and an advertising campaign featuring cooks Delia Smith and Heston Blumenthal helped John Lewis Partnership drive a 27.8% surge in profits, the retailer said today.

The group reported market-beating results at its department stores and the Waitrose supermarket arm, with group-wide pre-tax profits of £111.2m (€133.3m) in the half-year to July 31.