What: Liberty saw its total revenue leaping to £82 million in the year to the end of last January, from £59.6 million in the previous 52-week period.

Why it is important: Revenue has almost recovered to match the year ending 1 February 2020, but profitability is still affected as the move to online sales has increased its cost base.

Flagship sales per square foot are on a recovery trajectory, reaching £1,072 in the period compared to £779 the year before.

EBITDA before one-off costs, was a narrower loss of £3.5 million compared to a loss of £12.3 million in the previous year. But it still trails the £14.4 million profit generated in the last year before the pandemic hit.

It made operating profit of £2.4 million in the latest year compared to a very small £88,000 operating profit in the year prior. And the loss before tax shrank to £187,000 from a loss of £2.8 million 12 months earlier.

After Covid-related lockdowns and disruptions, Liberty reopened to a market that remained heavily impaired by lower footfall. That said, trading strengthened progressively during the summer months and gave management confidence that the pace of recovery would be in line with expectations for Christmas.

Also, Liberty launched its first subscription service called Beauty Drop, which it says is unique and received a very strong initial response from customers. Basically, subscribers get four boxes of curated beauty products a year in return for a monthly spending commitment.

Liberty on the recovery trail