Majestic Wine raises a glass to higher profits

Majestic Wine has seen demand from customers buying wine to drink at home spike, helping to offset a decline in corporate business and push pre-tax profits up 9pc to £6.1m in the six months to the end of September.

The wine merchant said its decision to cut its minimum order to six bottles from 12 had also paid off, with more frequent sales making up for a drop in average spend.

Majestic is stocking more wine from outside Europe, as the strength of the euro has pushed up prices and put off cash-conscious shoppers.

"People are clearly watching their finances very closely but they're still perfectly prepared to spend money on a decent bottle of wine," said chief executive Steve Lewis.

Majestic's sales to private customers rose 8.9pc while sales to businesses dropped 6.9pc. Revenues rose 13pc to £106.7m.

Like-for-like sales rose 5.4pc at UK stores during the first half.

That accelerated to a 6pc increase in the month to November 2.