Poundland is close to rolling out clothing brand Pep&Co into 300 stores as it looks to steal a slice of the discount fashion market.

The aggressive expansion is expected to be finished by the end of June, and puts the clothing company on track to secure an annual turnover of more than £100m for this financial year.

Pep&Co has been attempting to close the gap on rivals Primark and Matalan by offering £5 jeans and £2 bras.

Poundland said Pep&Co will soon be available in more locations than Marks & Spencer despite only beginning to introduce them into its stores this time last year.

The budget fashion brand opened its first UK store in 2015 and grew by targeting neglected “secondary high streets” in places like Bootle, Gateshead and Catford. Its prices start at £1 and 95pc of its range costs £10 or less.

As well as trading from Poundland stores, Pep&Co has also has 20 stand alone shops across the UK and employs 2,000 people either directly or through Poundland.

South African fashion giant Pepkor, which was sold by its founder Christo Wiese to Steinhoff for $5.7bn (£4.1bn) in 2014, currently owns both Poundland and Pep&Co.