A last-minute rush in the final days before Christmas helped House of Fraser boast of a record festive season as shoppers flocked into its department stores to snap up seasonal gifts, fashion and homewares.

The Chinese-owned chain announced that its like-for-like sales were up by 8 per cent over the six weeks to January 3, aided by strong sales of its in-house brands which include labels such as Linea and Howick.

Online sales were up by 31 per cent, while takings at “bricks and mortar” shops grew by 4.2 per cent.

“We saw a very strong start to the key Christmas season with Black Friday being particularly successful,” said John King, chief executive. “The positive momentum continued over the entire critical selling period with record sales levels during the final week before Christmas.”

In the final seven days before Christmas, House of Fraser said its sales were up by 6.8 per cent, with higher gross margins as the chain resisted the temptation to slash prices.

The upbeat figures bode well for takings at other fashion and household retailers. Figures are due on Thursday from Marks & Spencer and Dunelm, with Ted Baker, Burberry, Mothercare and Home Retail to follow next week.

House of Fraser is controlled by Nanjing Cenbest, an operator of department stores in China, which bought the 165-year-old British chain for £450 million last year.

In common with other leading high street retailers, House of Fraser’s stores were particularly busy on so-called “Black Friday” at the end of November when cut-price online deals spurred frantic activity.

Sales were up by 125 per cent over the same day last year and up by 70 per cent on House of Fraser’s previous busiest online day.

House of Fraser operates 59 stores. Its sales last year were £1.2 billion and the group employs 6,800 people.

Nick Bubb, a retail analyst said House of Fraser’s online offering was proving particularly strong, adding: “They have been quite clever about discounting, avoiding the ‘price-matching’ battle of Debenhams and John Lewis.”