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Marks & Spencer said it is leaving its Russian franchise business as it also warned that its sales growth will slow due to the cost-of-living crisis, The Independent reported.

The retail giant’s Russian arm, which is run by Turkish franchisees, operates 48 shops and 1,200 employees.

In March, the company stopped shipments to the stores but has now said it will “fully exit our Russian franchise” and face a £31 million cost hit as a result.

It said profits for the new financial year will start at a lower level due to the impact of its withdrawal from Russia and the end of the business rates holiday.

It added that it expects this will stay lower throughout the year “given the increasing cost pressures and consumer uncertainty”.

M&S highlighted that this is weighing on customers’ ability to spend and it expects this pressure to “increase” further in the year.

“We are therefore planning for an adverse impact on volumes due to price inflation, slowing the rate of sales growth,” the company warned.

M&S also confirmed it will continue with its long-term plan to close 100 stores by the end of this year, which was first announced in 2018.

This will result in around 32 further closures in 2022, the company said.