Sosandar has reported a return to top-line growth in its first half, with the womenswear brand saying it has laid “strong foundations” for sustained profitability despite a small increase in losses.

For the six months to 30 September, the fashion retailer reported sales rose 15% to £18.7m, driven by a strong rebound on Sosandar’s own website, where sales were up 28% year on year.

Gross margin held steady at 62.2%, reflecting the business’s ongoing focus on minimising discounting.

The group posted a pre-tax loss of £1.1m, compared with a £0.7m loss a year earlier, in line with expectations. Sosandar said performance was held back by the impact of the M&S cyber incident and early losses from its new store estate, which it expects to improve as sites mature.

Co-CEOs Ali Hall and Julie Lavington said they were “really pleased” with performance and highlighted the strong momentum behind its own-site channel.

“During this period, we delivered a return to revenue growth, supported by strong momentum through our own website… alongside a resilient gross margin,” they said.

The retailer said trading in October and November has remained strong, supported by a further uplift in gross margin to 67.2% as new season product landed at improved intake rates. Net cash increased to £9.5m as at 22 November.

Sosandar said it continues to perform well with third-party partners, remaining one of the top-selling brands with retailers such as Next. Sales through M&S have now resumed following the disruption earlier in the year, with collaborative plans in place to build stock levels.

The launch of a licensed homeware range with Next in September also delivered a “strong initial performance”, which the business said demonstrates the scope for extending its brand into new categories.

Stores represented 5% of revenue during the half. Chelmsford and Marlow, both just over a year old, are on track to reach breakeven in year two.

However, Sosandar said centres such as Cardiff and Gateshead have been more challenging, prompting the business to pause new openings while it focuses on improving performance at its six existing locations.

Looking ahead, the company reiterated that full-year expectations remain unchanged, supported by stronger second-half trading. “Looking forward, the foundations have been laid for sustainable, profitable, cash generative growth,” Hall and Lavington said.

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