Flat-pack furniture giant Ikea is planning to take on the UK high street with a string of city centre stores.

Furniture giant Ikea revealed plans today to invest £150m (€218m) at its UK stores as it insulates itself against the gloom on the high street.

Furniture giant Ikea is considering scaling down future stores in a bid to sidestep planning problems and increase the number of outlets in the UK.

Swedish retailer Ikea racked up record sales of more than €1bn over the past year as customers snapped up its flat-pack furniture, it emerged today.