Asos to pay back furlough cash

Asos, the online retailer will repay to the government it claimed for furloughing workers after its sales grew in lockdown by 10 per cent to £1bn in the four months to 30 June.

Nick Beighton Asos’ boss said “This has been a tough time for all businesses, but we have remained focused on doing the right thing for our people. While we remain cautious about the consumer impact of Covid-19 looking forward, we are on track to deliver strong year-on-year profit growth.”

UK retail sales fell by 1 per cent to £329, in the period, but international sales, particularly in Europe, were strong up 17 per cent to $654m.