New profit upgrade by buoyant Laura Ashley

Laura Ashley, once one of the High Street's walking wounded, showed today that its resurgence of late may be no fluke.

The fashion and homewares retailer, which is still associated with floral prints after all these years, issued its second profit upgrade in two months, giving the shares another nudge to the good.

In December, the company said it was confident that full-year profits would be better than the City realised.

Today it said a strong performance over Christmas and early January means that the results will be "significantly higher than earlier expectations".

Analysts on average were expecting a pre-tax profit of £15.8 million before today's news.

The shares jumped 4.75p to 24p, leaving the company valued by the stockmarket at £175 million.

Laura Ashley started the business in a London flat.

The brand first became famous when Audrey Hepburn wore an Ashley headscarf in the film Roman Holiday.

Lately it has expanded overseas, recently opening its first store in Bahrain.

Retailers had a mixed Christmas, with many blaming the snow for poor sales.

Last week fashion retailer Jacques Vert said its performance in December was severely impacted by the weather, though Ted Baker managed to perform well despite the snow.