Retailer Carpetright has said that its performance improved significantly in the fourth quarter as it looks to bounce back following a torrid 12 months.
The firm stated that its overall trading performance in the 12 weeks to April 20 was in line with expectations, with like for like sales showing a big upswing compared to the year to date figure.
Shares were flying 37 per cent higher in morning trade at 21p.
Carpetright credited higher customer confidence in the business following the group's restructuring last year.
READ MORE: Jobs at risk at Carpetright as retailer eyes store closures
Chief Wilf Walsh said: "This has been a transitional year for Carpetright and we remain on track both with our recovery plan and our strategic initiatives.
"The actions taken are driving improvement, particularly in the invested store estate, and the brand remains strong.
Small business lender iwoca has overtaken two of the UK's biggest banks amid shrinking funding options for entrepreneurs.
The challenger's share of small business overdrafts was reported as rising to 12 per cent in the final quarter of 2018, putting it above high street players Santander and HSBC.
The fresh data, provided by UK Finance, show that the overall number of overdraft facilities available for small businesses has dwindled, dropping 50% since 2011.
In the latest quarterly figures, Santander had a 9% share of SME lending, while HSBC had 11%. RBS has the biggest share, with 30%, while Barclays and Lloyds hold 15% and 20% respectively.
Microsoft has reported strong growth in its latest quarterly financial results, crediting continued cloud uptake in the commercial sector and an increase in people subscribing to its Office 365 products.
In the three months to the end of March, the computing giant saw a boost in revenue, operating income and net profit compared with the same period last year.
"Leading organisations of every size in every industry trust the Microsoft cloud," said Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella.
"We are accelerating our innovation across the cloud and edge so our customers can build the digital capability increasingly required to compete and grow."
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