Sales at bargain retailer B&M soared by over a quarter during the UK's coronavirus lockdown period, with the entire group's revenue passing the £1bn mark.
The B&M brand's sales rose from £738.9m to £987.8m between March 29 and June 27 - 27.7% up on the same period last year.
In a trading update on issued on Tuesday, the Merseyside-based firm said total income for the group, which includes Heron Foods and German and French businesses Babou and Jawoll, rose to £1.154bn - up from £904.6m on the year before.
The firm said the "strong start" was down to B&M's "value-led model and convenient out of town locations" - "proving highly attractive to customers".
No new stores were opened during the period due to the impact of Covid-19.
Simon Arora, chief executive, said: “The group has made a strong start to the financial year, with a particularly strong performance in our UK businesses, and progress now resumed in France after an 8 week closure period.
"However, as outlined at our preliminary results for the last financial year announced on June 11 2020, there are a great deal of uncertainties ahead.
"The safety of our colleagues and customers remains our priority whilst we work hard to continue to meet our customers’ needs in these difficult times.”
B&M is expected to open at least 30 net new stores and Heron Foods to open at least 15 net new stores this financial year.
Convenience store chain Heron Foods also increased its sales - by 21.4% to £113m.
Despite the positive results, the French business Babou's revenue dropped to £54m from £72.6m in the same period last year.
