Sporting goods retailer JJB Sports has posted disappointing first-half sales. The group reported sales were still down 3.1 percent for the 10 weeks to 9 October, although they had improved since the first half. The group, 39 percent-owned by founder and former chairman David Whelan and his family, said that underlying sales had dropped 4.3 percent in the 10 weeks to 9 October, which was an improvement on the 8.8 percent drop it suffered in the first half. Gross margin had fallen by 1.2 percent.

Clothing sales continued to suffer due to competition from Tesco and Matalan, and footwear also performed poorly. Chief executive Tom Knight said that the health club business was undervalued by analysts, but had to admit that new openings would not lift profit in the short term. "Some people still don't understand the future value of this business," he told the FT. "It has two revenue streams from one property and some don't get that."