The warm autumn weather helped B&Q grow profits by more than a fifth in the past quarter.

Garden furniture sales jumped by 68% in the 13 weeks to 31 October as UK and Republic of Ireland retail profits grew by 20.6% to £46m while like for like sales dipped 0.9% to £928m.

The chain was helped by the closure of Focus DIY in the summer and it has reopened 27 of 29 the former rival's stores it bought, with performance described as 'trading well.'

'Looking ahead, the short-term outlook in our major markets remains challenging but Kingfisher is in good shape, and we are more able to drive market share gains, profit growth and higher cash returns,' says Ian Cheshire, Kingfisher chief executive.

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