Cotswold Outdoor has 67 stores across the UK

Retailer Cotswold Outdoor said a bumper period in the run-up to Christmas helped it bust the £100m turnover ceiling last year.

The figure was reached on Christmas Eve and included a reported 14 per cent increase in sales for 2012 over the previous year.

A company spokesperson said: “December was particularly strong showing double-digit like-for-like growth.

“Cotswold Outdoor’s award-winning website and the launch of a multi-channel offering in the second half of 2012, with the popular click and collect service, were strong contributors to this success.”

Cotswold Outdoor has 67 stores in the UK and also sells through its mail-order catalogue and online.

Hans Falkenburg, chief executive of Cotswold Outdoor, hosted a conference to personally thank suppliers for their support throughout 2012 and to look ahead to 2013.

He said: “Cotswold Outdoor has worked hard to build itself up from quite literally two men in a shed in 1974 to the national multi-channel retailer we are today.

“We’ve had an outstanding 2012 and have now hit the £100m mark in a year of recession.

“We’re looking forward to further success ahead of our 40th anniversary next year.”