Marks&Spencer admits to a loss in sales due to Brexit and will enter into an alliance by buying other brands

M&S acknowledged that the trade deal closed on Christmas Eve would mean no tariff for goods arriving in its shops in the UK. But they warned of "very complex administrative procedures" for shops abroad. Their business in the EU states of Ireland, the Czech Republic and France is vulnerable.

Total like-for-like sales in the UK fell by 7.6%, with clothes and household utensils falling by 24.1%.

M&S is ready to buy Jaeger in a move that will add to its 'multi-brand' strategy, breaking with tradition and offering non-M&S lines. It is buying the company from Edinburgh magnate Philip Day Woolen Mills, which collapsed last year.

Recently they bid for Victoria's Secret, the underwear brand, but was defeated by Next.