Retail giant Great Universal Stores is to float part of its stake in the luxury goods brand Burberry.

The store group, which also owns the Argos store chain, said it planned to list Burberry within the next 18 months "subject to market conditions".

At the same time, the group said sales at Burberry shot up to £185 million during the first half of the year, compared with £94 million in the same period last year.

Chief executive John Peace said the move would help to secure "the inherent value" in the brand.

"This would mark a major point in the development on Burberry and provide transparency for its increasing value within GUS," he added.

GUS also reported pre-tax profits of £112.2 million for the six months to 30 September, down from the £136.6 million recorded in the same period last year.

Pre-tax profits would have been higher but for a £26.1 million hit for exceptional items.

This included the £8.9 million cost of restructuring Argos, and the cost of closing the group's General Guarantee Finance business and disposing its Highway Vehicle arm.

Mr Peace said the benefits of the Argos reorganisation - combining it with the group's home-shopping operations under the Argos Retail Group umbrella - was already paying dividends.

Profits at the chain over the first half were up 13 per cent to £35.7 million, on a 17 per cent increase in sales, to £944 million.

Mr Peace said Argos was continuing to perform well in its major categories, through a combination of "wider choice, better value and greater convenience".

He added the aim of the restructured retail group was not only to build on the "strong momentum" at Argos, but to stabilise home-shopping profits.

Home-shopping profits across the UK and Ireland dropped by 15 per cent to £8.3 million in the first half, and by nine per cent to £10.4 million in mainland Europe.