Profits up for Somerset-based fashion retailer Mulberry

Luxury goods maker Mulberry has bucked the trend for gloomy retail growth and issued a rosy profits forecast.

The company, based in Chilcompton, Somerset, says its annual pre-tax profits will grow by 16.5% to £18.5m, for the current financial year.

Shares in the fashion house, which were trading at £2 a year ago, reached £13.74 on Thursday.

Capacity at the firm's Chilcompton factory has been increased by a third, creating 60 new jobs.

Retail analyst Philip Dorgan, of Altium Securities, said: "Mulberry's brand has become both relevant and desirable to the global consumer, but it barely has a toe in some of the world's largest luxury goods markets."

The firm's goods are sold in 82 outlets around the world.

It was founded in 1971 by Roger Saul in North Wootton, Somerset. He left the company in 2004.