REID Furniture, Scotland's biggest independent furniture retailer, more than doubled its profits last year and founder chairman Sam Reid's bid to turn the Glasgow-based group into a (pounds) 100m business by 2005 appears firmly on track.

Sales to the end of May rose 18%, the company's annual report discloses, with like-for-like order volumes up 7% on 2002.

Reid now has 29 showrooms, including eight in Ireland. In the year to December 31, 2002, pre-tax profits rose to (pounds) 2.2m, up from (pounds) 1m the previous year, fuelled by growth in Reid's Irish operation. Like-for-like sales increased by 13%, to (pounds) 46.4m, with a further (pounds) 9.8m added by acquis-itions.

Reid has spent more than (pounds) 6m on store openings and refurbishments since 2000, all financed from its own resources.

Said Reid: ''Like other retailers we remain cautiously

optimistic, though tempered, due to the volatility of inter-national affairs and the strength of the euro.''