Reuters revealed that Ikea plans to spend up to £2.16b on new stores globally over the next five to seven years, mainly in China and Russia – at the same time collecting rent from retailers keen to set up nearby as an increasing number of customers are drawn to the sites.

Ikea's John Tegner told Reuters: "We strengthen the trading place by the Ikea store. It has also turned out to be a pretty good business. Over time this has proven to be a relatively stable and profitable investment."