Retail logistics firm Clipper has reported group revenue up by 39.1 per cent as e-commerce sales continue to grow.

The Leeds-based company reported group revenue up from from £500.7m to £696.2m, in its results for the year ended 30 April 2021.

The firm acquired new contracts in the period including with Revolution Beauty, H&M and JD Sports.

Group profit after tax hit £21.7m, a 33.8 per cent increase on the previous year’s figure of £16.2m.

Underlying EBIT rose 52.4 per cent to £31.4m while the company hired an additional 2,000 employers in the period.

“The market has witnessed significant recent change particularly with the acceleration of the growth in e-fulfilment which now represents 70 per cent of our logistics revenue,” Clipper executive chairman Steve Parkin, said.

He added: “Our highly deployable asset-light model has enabled us to reinforce our pan-European proposition during the financial year, which together with a strong pipeline of new business activity ensures that the Group is in an excellent position to achieve further growth both domestically and internationally.”

The logistics firm benefitted from online shoppers buying different sizes and styles and returning items.

“Although the UK’s footfall is still only hovering around 72 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, clothing retailers have a much more enticing in-person shopping experience. That’s where a shopper can see how the material really looks and feels – something which VR shopping tools are still far from nailing down,” Freetrade analyst, Gemma Boothroyd said.

Clipper also benefited from having facilities in the UK and EU while rivals who did not have bases in both “struggled to keep up once all that new red tape came into place” post-Brexit, Boothroyd added.