A FASHION firm that employs around 1,000 people in Burnley has seen its profits leap by 129 per cent.

Boohoo, which has a sales and distribution site in the Heasandford industrial estate, has released its half-year profits after strong sales of its plus-sized and petite clothing range.

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The online retailer, which is aimed at 16 to 24 year olds, has also seen its sales lift by 40 per cent to £127.4million during the six months to the end of August.

In January the company, which completed a massive extension of its Burnley warehouse last year, announced that sales had risen by half to almost £74million in the four months ending on December 31, 2015.

In November last year it announced that it was set to expand further by acquiring the former Ultra Finishing site in Widow Hill Road.

The company has also disclosed that its pre-tax profits have risen to £14.3million but that there has been a fall in gross margins as Boohoo ran a number of promotions and discounts in an attempt to lure bargain hunter shoppers.

In a joint statement cheif executive officers Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane said: “We are pleased to report a strong performance in the first half of the year, with robust growth across all regions and continued momentum in new customer growth.

“As a result of our continued momentum in the UK and encouraging growth in selected overseas markets, we now expect revenue growth for the full year of between 30 per cent and 35 per cent, reflecting tougher second half comparatives.

“Following the success in the first half of the year we will continue to look for opportunities to invest in marketing campaigns and our customer proposition to drive future sales growth and improve customer lifetime value.”

Recently the firm has also launched a childrenswear and maternity range to target a winder audience.

The company was set up in 2006 by Mrs Kane and business partner Mr Kamani at the helm.

In May 2015 the firm said that it saw revenues grow to just under £140million for the end of the financial year, a leap of 27 per cent worldwide and 33 per cent in the UK.

Boohoo, which is headquartered in Manchester, has seen mobile and tablet sales account for 72 per cent of customer visits to its site, recording 3.2million views on its YouTube channel.