FASHION and furnishings chain Laura Ashley said full-year profits were set to be “significantly higher” than expected as it shrugged off the impact of the severe weather.

It is the second upgrade in the space of a month from the retailer, which said in mid-December that its full-year profits would top expectations.

Laura Ashley, which has 221 stores in the UK and Ireland, increased its forecast even further in the wake of a strong like-for-like performance over Christmas and early January.

The firm posted like-for-like sales growth of 2.7% in the 19 weeks to December 11.