Burberry yesterday brushed off fears that the fallout from the credit crunch would hit sales and said that its new luxury ranges were “flying off the shelves”.

The fashion group reported an 11 per cent jump in like-for-like sales for the six months to September 30 across its stores in the United States, Europe and Asia. Total revenue, including wholesale and licensing, was up 19 per cent year-on-year at £449 million.

Stacey Cartwright, chief financial officer, said: “We’re in a certain element of the market that is insulated from the doom and gloom and we are not seeing anything to concern us at the moment.” She said the group, best known for its trademark check, had benefited from reaffirming its luxury market position by moving even more upmarket. Its biggest success had been a new handbag range, including the Beaton, costing £1,095, and the Knight, at £1,595.“The business has moved on dramatically in the past two years. No one mentions chavs any more. It’s history.”

The shares dipped 17½p to 648½p after Burberry said that it was having to spend £4 million more this year on Project Atlas, a programme to overhaul the supply chain and IT system. Ms Cartwright said the total cost of the three-year programme was unchanged.

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