Weak pound drives strong UK sales for Burberry

British luxury fashion label Burberry reported a better-than-expected 2 per cent rise in retail sales in its second quarter after tourists in London took advantage of the weaker pound to buy its luxury goods.

The company said positive trading in Europe and a “significant outperformance in the UK” helped the improvement in comparable retail sales, its first growth in the measure for four quarters.

Burberry has been one of the best-performing stocks since Britain voted to leave the European Union on June 23rd, helped by the weaker pound. Its shares are up 35 per cent, outperforming the FTSE 100 index by 24 per cent.

Analysts were expecting a 1 per cent rise in second-quarter retail. – (Reuters)