Carphone Warehouse said it was approaching its £3.6bn (€4.50bn) tie-up with the owner of PC World and Currys from a “position of strength” as the two merger partners delivered separate results for the final time today.

Currys and PC World owner Dixons Retail is to sell a loss-making European business in the wake of its merger deal with Carphone Warehouse.

A £3.7 billion merger between Carphone Warehouse and Dixons is set to be unveiled this week in a move creating a retail giant with 1,300 UK stores.

International electronic goods retailer, Dixons Retail has reported a 6% year-on-year rise in first half sales; mainly driven by strong growth in its core UK and Ireland division.

The owner of Currys and PC World unveiled its vision of the "urban toy shop" today with the opening of a high-tech store at a major UK shopping centre.

“Phenomenal” demand for tablet devices drove sales at the British and Irish operations of electronic goods seller, Dixons Retail, up by 8% during the company’s third quarter, which coincided with the busy Christmas trading period.

The owner of PC World and Currys benefited from the demise of rival Comet today by reporting a bigger-than-expected surge in Christmas sales.

The boss of Dixons Retail today said the Currys and PC World owner was poised to take advantage of the demise of rival Comet.

Electrical goods seller Dixons Retail eliminated more than £100 million (€124m) of net debt last year, but profits were dragged down by a poor performance in mainland Europe.

A retail boss credited with helping PC World and Currys stores survive the downturn has been poached by technology giant Apple to run its portfolio of retail shops.