Shares in Kingfisher saw an unexpected surge in price this morning after the company posted its latest figures, which show a rise in sales.
While Kingfisher's UK sales change was only 0.5% for the 23 weeks to July 12, the past 10 weeks have seen B&Q sales increase by 3.7% in the UK a like-for-like increase of 0.2%.

The rise was thanks to an increase of almost 20% in seasonal lines compared with the same, wetter period last year. This performance was balanced by weaker sales of non-seasonal lines.

Screwfix and Trade Depot also performed strongly in the 10-week period delivering a total sales growth of 18.7% including 13 new openings in the period.

The announcement sparked the steepest share price gain in almost 16 years hitting 134.9p at its peak.

Kingfisher group ceo Ian Cheshire said he was cautious about the consumer outlook, as "the UK market remains extremely tough". However, he said, "we are trading solidly. I am confident that the investments made in recent years have improved our value credentials and customer offer, leaving us well placed to trade effectively in difficult times."