Next profit hopes boosted by royal wedding and fine weather

British clothing retailer Next lifted its full-year profit hopes today after warm weather and the royal wedding bank holiday encouraged customers to spend.

The high street giant, which has suffered from mediocre sales since a dismal Christmas season, said consumers brought forward summer purchases and helped lift total sales by 5.2% in the 13 weeks to April 30.

However, Next, which has more than 500 stores in the UK and Ireland, warned it did expect the current levels of growth to continue into the second quarter and remained cautious as consumer spending is squeezed.

The company said it now expected pre-tax profits for the full year to be between £535m and £585m (€595m and €650m), around £15m (€16.6m) ahead of the guidance given in March and above market expectations.