The directors of independent department store Jarrolds said the business had overcame a challenging retail environment to bolster profits across the group.

The Norwich-based company notched a 20pc increase in pre-tax profits to £2.2m, as turnover rose from £27.1m to £28.5m.

It came as its contemporary furniture store The Granary traded above expectations, while retailer Pilch Sports mounted record profits.

Reviewing of the results for the 52 weeks to February 2014, the director's wrote: '2013 was a better year for the company despite ongoing weakenesses in our local economy and accelerating change in the retail environment.'

'We continued to invest in [the] flagship department store with significant improvements to the ground floor and basement,' they added.

Elsewhere, the company said there were signs that confidence was returning to companies across the region after its business services division Jarrold Training and St James Facility Management managed to record strong results in the second half of the year.