Experian, the credit checking and information services group, said it was weathering the turmoil created by the credit crisis, though conditions in the UK and the US were constraining growth.

The shares rose 39¼p to 395¼p after the company said sales in the six months to March were 21 per cent higher than for the same period last year, although stripping out acquisitions and favourable exchange rates meant that organic growth was 2 per cent.