Clothes retailers Arcadia and Matalan have seen their sales rise.

The figures can be taken as evidence of the continued resilience of UK consumers.

Arcadia - the owner of Top Shop, Burton and Dorothy Perkins - saw like-for-like sales rise 8% in the first 17 weeks of the second half of the year.

Matalan saw its like-for-like sales rise 5.7% in the 17 weeks ending 22 June.

The figures represent a comeback for Matalan, which last year lost its chief executive Angus Munro, following a series of profit warnings.

"It's good news all round, but Matalan's shares are particularly encouraging," said Richard Ratner, retail analyst at Seymour Pierce.

Share boost

Shares in Matalan rose nearly 9% to 299p.

Arcadia has been helped by moves to focus on its six key brands.

Last year, the group sold Warehouse, Principles, Racing Green and Hawkshead to a management buy-out team.

Shares in Arcadia - which have climbed 35% in the last six months - rose 4p to 345p in early trade.