John Lewis chairman Charlie Mayfield has said that the company has recorded an impressive rise of 60 per cent in profits during the first six months of the year.

"Our rate of growth will remain positive but will be slower in the second half and, with further investment planned in that period to strengthen our business, the rapid rate of profit increase is not expected to be carried through to the full year," he said.

The John Lewis Partnership (JLP), which owns department store chain and upmarket supermarket, said that its pre-tax profit rose to £144.5m for the six months to July 28. The rise in even more impressive as it comes at a time when the UK economy has slipped in to a recession like situation.

Waitrose reported an increase of 2.2 per cent in sales while John Lewis sales rose 9.3 in the six months compared to the same period of the previous year. Mayfield said that the sales have increased Diamond Jubilee of the Queen in the UK, fall in sales of 2011 due to VAT and the build-up to the Olympics and Paralympics in London.