The UK division of Swedish furniture giant IKEA has posted a growth in revenues and a return to profit.

According to its latest filed accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021, total sales rose 2.7% £1.954bn from £1.9bn in 2020, an uptick of £50.9m.

Gross profit increased to £584.3m from £515.7m, while pre-tax profit resulted at £62.3m, returning to positive territory compared to its loss of £27.3m recorded the previous year.

Stated within its report, IKEA said it saw a ‘huge appetite’ among its customers to upgrade their living spaces, which in turn boosted sales.

“2021 was a pivotal year for our journey towards creating a better IKEA – becoming more accessible, affordable, and sustainable. A culture of togetherness, an agile approach to change and a drive to boost efficiency and cut costs saw IKEA UK return to operating profit for the first time since 2017, despite the challenges of 2021, with its sustained store closures and ongoing economic uncertainty,” IKEA said.

As part of IKEA’s better home strategy, its Buyback scheme, which launched in May 2021, bought back and resold around 18,000 pieces of furniture in the UK and 470 in Ireland from its customers.