Topps Tiles has revealed slower growth at the start of its financial year as it also snapped up the brand of collapsed rival Fired Earth.

Shares in the company dipped in early trading on Tuesday despite a return to profit.

The Leicestershire-based tile retailer revealed that group sales, excluding the CTD brand it bought last year, were up 3.3% over the nine weeks since the end of September, with like-for-like sales of 2% across Topps.

However, it marked a slowdown after Topps reported like-for-like growth of 5.3% in the year to September 27, compared with a year earlier.

The group said recent sales “moderated due to weaker consumer confidence”.

It comes after a recent slowdown in consumer spending ahead of the autumn Budget, which then introduced significant tax increases.

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