Retail giant Marks & Spencer is expected to post lower annual profits and reveal its clothing sales revival came to an abrupt halt at the start of the year when it reports on Wednesday.

M&S - which has stores in Carlisle, Penrith and Workington - cheered its first rise in clothing and home sales for nearly two years in January.

This though is expected to be only a temporary reprieve as the timing of Easter is set to have impacted its fourth quarter trading.

Analysts predict clothing and home sales fell by 3.3 per cent in the three months to the end of March, against a 2.3 per cent hike the previous quarter.

Food sales are likely to have fallen by close to one per cent in the final quarter.

This will see the group's year end on a sour note, with underlying pre-tax profits also set to dive 13 per cent to £593m from £684m the previous year.

Chief executive Steve Rowe has already warned that profits would take time to recover as its clothing turnaround beds in, but the third quarter trading gave hope that it is beginning to turn the corner.

Jonathan Pritchard at stockbroking firm Peel Hunt thinks these changes may have helped. He said: "We think that the immediate changes that management made to the offer, merchandising and service are starting to resonate with customers."