Reiss has shrugged off the high street downturn to deliver soaring sales over the first half of the year.

The British brand saw total group sales jump 23.7% to £102.9 million in the 26-week period to August 3.

Reiss was launched in 1971 and has grown to operate 208 stores across 17 countries.

Chief executive officer Christos Angelides hailed the sales increase and marketing investment.

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He said: "I am very pleased with Reiss's first-half performance and encouraged by the promising start we have made to the Autumn-Winter season.

"Our customers are clearly responding to the investment we have made in people, product, brand and infrastructure.

"I am also excited at the opportunity to further raise awareness of the Reiss brand by launching an Autumn-Winter campaign across a series of marketing initiatives, some of which are a first for the brand, starting in the heart of London with Piccadilly Lights."

The sales uplift comes amid a testing period for high street retailers, as footfall has declined on the back of economic uncertainty.

The competition watchdog has told Royal Bank of Scotland and Santander to fix their PPI processes, after finding failings by both banks in their communications with customers.

According to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), RBS failed to provide annual PPI reminders to almost 11,000 customers for up to six years.

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Santander, meanwhile, sent out annual reminders which contained incorrect information to more than 3,400 of its mortgage PPI customers from 2012 to 2017.

The failures contravene an order made in 2011 following the Competition Commission's investigation into PPI, which required providers to send customers an annual reminder setting out how much was paid for their policy, the type of cover they had, and their right to cancel.

Both have been instructed to appoint an independent auditor to assess their PPI processes.

It comes with just one week left for customers to make a complaint about PPI to their provider, or risk missing out on the chance of a refund.

The deadline for making a claim is 11.59pm on August 29.

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Billionaire David Koch has died aged 79.

Together with his older brother, Charles, the Kochs were best known for a vast political network.

The brothers founded the anti-tax, small government group Americans For Prosperity.

Charles Koch remembered his brother for "his giant personality and passion for life" and said he will be "greatly missed, but never forgotten".

He said his brother was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer 27 years ago but liked to say that "brilliant doctors, state-of-the-art medications and his own stubbornness kept the cancer at bay".

Charles Koch said his brother "was able to touch so many more lives as a result" in the ensuing years.

Mr Koch was an engineer trained at MIT. He joined Koch Industries in 1970 and served on its board.

He was chief executive officer of Koch Chemical Technology Group, a Koch subsidiary.

Charles and David Koch, each with an estimated net worth of $31 billion, tied in fourth place in 2012 on Forbes 500 list of the nation's richest men.