The John Lewis Partnership has said the five-year transformation plan launched by the retail group in 2020 will take two years longer than planned as it posted another half-year loss.

The group, which runs the department store chain and Waitrose supermarket arm, saw pre-tax losses narrow by 41pc to £59m for the six months to July 29.

The group also recorded a 2pc increase in sales across the partnership to £5.8bn as it hailed higher sales on beauty and fashion but reduced demand for “technology and big ticket home items”.

John Lewis said that the “Partnership Plan” it launched in 2020 with the target of a £400m profit by 2025/26, was now going to take until 2027/28 due to “inflationary pressures”.

It added that investment into its strategy and customers was going to “take precedence” over its annual bonus for staff members.

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