Mothercare has stemmed five years of falling sales in the UK with the first full year of like-for-like sales growth in its domestic business since the recession.

The turnaround caps 12 months of growing pains for the buggy and babywear retailer, during which time it has seen off a takeover approach from a US rival, gone cap-in-hand to shareholders to raise £100 million in a heavily discounted rights issue and hired new senior management.

“It’s been a hell of a year,” said Mark Newton-Jones, chief executive.

Shares were up 3.6 per cent to 232.88p in afternoon London trading on the news that the sales rise had been accompanied by a halt to five years of sliding margins in the UK and a halving of overall pretax losses.

– (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2015)