The owner of PC World and Currys said its business took off "like a rocket" after a record St Stephen's Day for the electricals retailer.

More than £100,000 of sales went through its tills every minute on the day as Dixons Retail Group's Britain and Ireland arm made up for a quieter couple of weeks in the run-up to Christmas Day.

The strong post-Christmas sale period and a “remarkably busy” start to the festive shopping season as shoppers picked up bargains over the Black Friday weekend meant like-for-like sales between November 1st and January 4th were 5 per cent higher.

Chief executive Sebastian James said the company, which has stores across Europe, saw a “lively Christmas with plenty of ups and downs”.

“From Boxing Day, the business took off like a rocket – in fact, Boxing Day itself was the biggest in Dixons’ UK history with more than £100,000 flowing through our tills every minute.”

It was the second year in a row of growth over the Christmas period, with the improvement in British sales coming despite tougher year-on-year comparisons due to the 2012 collapse of rival Comet. Across the group, like-for-like sales were 3 per cent higher, with the progress in Britain and Ireland offset by an 8 per cent fall in sales in Greece. Stores in Sweden and Finland had a successful Christmas but trading in Denmark and Norway was a “little less exuberant”.– (PA)