SALES of unit trust personal equity plans (Peps) have remained "impressively high" in Britain this year and show no signs of abating.

Mr Philip Warland, director general of the Association of Unit Trusts and Investment Funds (AUTIF), said 1996 "has been the year of the Pep".

Investors were increasingly using tax free Peps to meet a range of different needs, from funding their retirement to meeting education costs, he added.