The London market's Christmas rally showed little sign of fading today as eager buyers pushed the blue-chip index close to a year high.

The co-founders of the UK's Ideal World home shopping business claimed another success today after unveiling a £5m (€5.6m) takeover of their plant and garden equipment retail venture – just two years after they set it up.

The co-founders of television shopping group Ideal Shopping Direct cashed in £10m (€14.6m) of shares today as annual profits more than trebled.