Ikea sees annual UK sales top £1.8bn

Swedish flatpack furniture retailer Ikea says it achieved total UK sales of £1.814bn in the UK for the financial year ending 31 August 2017.

That was 5.8% more than in the previous year, and was its sixth consecutive year of UK growth.

Market share was up 0.5%, bringing the retailer one step closer to its ambition of increasing overall market share to 15% by 2027.

The firm is celebrating its 30th anniversary in the UK this year.

The company recently opened stories in Reading and Sheffield, and plans to open two more stores in Exeter and Greenwich, south-east London, during the coming year.

A new website has also been launched during the recent financial year, with online now accounting for 15% of total sales.

"In addition to our global acquisition of TaskRabbit, we also launched click-and-collect in all order and collection points," added Gillian Drakeford, Ikea's UK retail manager.

The firm added 1,000 new jobs during the year, bringing worker numbers to 10,900. Some 850 jobs will be added when the two new stores open this year.