Fast-rising online retailer The Hut Group plans to recruit 2,000 more staff in a major hiring spree.

Profits at the company surged 51pc to £318m for the year to December 2017, as the booming beauty market bolstered sales of hair and skincare products.

Group sales hit record heights, climbing 47pc to £736m, after the retailer snapped up skincare brand Espa, make-up business Illamasqua and the beauty box supplier Glossybox.

Chief executive Matthew Moulding said the beauty business had underpinned the company’s rapid expansion.

“We have been investing in beauty now for the last 24 months. We have been internationalising it by taking it to all the relevant territories and adding some of our own brands into the portfolio as well," he said.

“As a result, we are starting to see super growth in that side of the group.”

The Hut Group, which is frequently on bankers' lists of float candidates, created 1,884 jobs over the period, lifting its total workforce to more than 4,000.

It is also planning to take on a further 2,000 staff this year to keep pace with its meteoric growth.

The Manchester-based company, which said 58pc of sales came from its own brands, is plotting more acquisitions for 2018.