Marks & Spencer, which fought off a 400p-a-share putative bid from retailer Philip Green two years ago, today delivered its third quarter of consecutive growth which was double the expectations of the market.

M&S shares rose 4% to 588p at 08.40 GMT after the company, led by chief executive Stuart Rose, said like-for-like sales in the fourth quarter increased by 6.8%. Retail analysts had forecast 3.2% for the period.