B&Q-to-Comet retailer Kingfisher has shown how it has benefited from strong consumer confidence in the UK by posting an increase in third-quarter sales.

Sales for the three months to November 3 increased by 4.8 per cent on a like-for-like basis, which exclude new stores, taking sales for the year to date up by 4.7 per cent.

DIY enthusiasts helped boost the figures with Kingfisher's home improvement division seeing double digit growth for the third quarter in a row.

In Kingfisher's electrical and furniture arm, the UK saw the strongest growth with Comet reporting a six per cent increase in like-for-like sales.

Earlier this year, London-based Kingfisher overhauled itself by selling chemist chain Superdrug and selling off big name general retailer Woolworths.