The carpet and floorcoverings retailer, Carpetright, has announced its "business turnaround [is] on track with an encouraging return to positive like-for-like sales growth" in its full year results, following the group’s restructuring last year which saw pre-tax losses at Carpetright shrink to £24.8 million in the year to April 27, down from a loss of £69.8 million last year aftergroup said it saw "significant improvement" in second half trading, particularly Q4, with a return to like-for-like sales growth in the new financial year.

The UK operations saw 80 stores closed as part of the CVA and 23 stores retained on a nil rent basis, however Carpetright has reported like-for-like sales in the first eight weeks of its new financial year as 8.5% up against the previous year, while in the rest of Europe it rose by 4.3%.

Commenting on the results Wilf Walsh, Chief Executive, said: "2018/19 was a transitional year for the business as we took tough but necessary action to address our legacy property issues and restructure the UK store estate. This difficult task was carried out against the backdrop of a challenging trading environment but was essential to put the business back on the path to sustainable profitability.

"From a trading standpoint it was, as expected, a year of two halves, with the first six months reflecting the impact of the CVA implementation, followed by a significant improvement in the second half and, in particular, during Q4. We are pleased to report today that this positive trend has continued into the new year with a return to like-for-like sales growth in the first eight weeks of the period, when UK LFL sales grew by 8.5%.

"We remain the clear number one player in floorcoverings, having maintained our market leadership during an exceptionally challenging period, and our brand attributes remain strong. Our work is far from finished, and while economic and political uncertainties cloud the near term outlook for the retail sector, our turnaround plan is very much on track."