Troubled Rochdale-based fashion retailer Footasylum said on Tuesday its revenue rose 19% to £98.6 million in the half year to August 25 but it made an adjusted loss before tax of £4 million compared to a £2.3 million profit at the same stage last year.

Footasylum executive chairman Barry Bown said: “This has been a difficult trading period for Footasylum as we have contended with tough conditions on the high street and some delays in our programme of new store openings and upsizes ahead of the peak trading period.

“While we are pleased to be reporting good top line growth, and a particularly strong year-on-year revenue performance in both online and wholesale, our profitability has been impacted both by a lower overall gross margin from higher clearance activity in stores, as well as the extensive investments that are being made to position the company for future growth.

“We are encouraged by the early results and trends that we are seeing from our investments in key areas such as digital and marketing, and see substantial opportunity for further progress across these and other parts of our operations.

“In the longer-term, we remain confident that the company’s differentiated, product-led, multi-channel proposition, combined with strong partnerships with core suppliers, will underpin our future progress.”