Demand in Asia boosts Burberry

Burberry shrugged off worries that slowing Chinese growth will stifle demand for its handbags and trench coats today as it reported better-than-expected sales at its stores.

The luxury goods group's core retail arm posted like-for-like sales growth of 7% in the six months to the end of March, compared with City forecasts for 2 to 3% growth.