Marks and Spencer could grow its sales space by 40% in the long term and top £1bn of profits by 2008, analysts have forecast.

A relaunch of its internet offer, international franchise expansion and roll out of Simply Food to hundreds of BP forecourts could also boost sales significantly.

The update on M&S's trading, produced by Deutsche Bank, revealed that chief executive Stuart Rose's turnaround plan was motoring and that the retailer was heading for sales of more than £10bn by 2009 - of which £4.7bn would come from food, up from £3.6bn last year.

"In our view the store modernisation programme is not only likely to deliver sales uplifts of 7-12%, but it should also act as a catalyst for encouraging people back into the stores, where they will discover the new and improved product ranges," said Deutsche Bank analyst Rod Whitehead.

"In a provincial town the renovation of one of the biggest shops in the centre is a major talking point and can be a cornerstone of a local brand recovery as word of mouth builds on the foundations laid by high-quality national advertising."

He added that he expected the Simply Food format, currently numbering about 150, to increase to between 200 and 300 stores over the next few years - delivering 5% growth in space.

It would then grow at 2% per year, he forecast.

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