M&S puts profit jump down to better clothing styles and more affordable food

But retailer faces challenging year as it expects to spend £100m extra on staff wages and £50m on energy

Marks & Spencer profits have increased by more than a fifth, beating City expectations, with the retailer crediting the rise to improvements to the style credentials of its clothing and more affordable food.

However, the company warned it faced a challenging year ahead as costs continued to increase. It expects to spend £100m more on staff wages and £50m on energy.