John Lewis Partnership suffered a slump in profits after its Waitrose chain absorbed cost increases triggered by the EU referendum.
The employee-owned company said that Brexit and the decline in sterling that it sparked were undermining consumer confidence.
Sales at its John Lewis and Waitrose businesses were up but profits were dragged down by lower profit margins at Waitrose and a £55m hit on redundancy and restructuring costs after it overhauled how the food stores were run.
