Fortnum & Mason post record annual sales

Fortnum & Mason has posted record annual sales. Picture: Getty Images

The firm, famous for its food hampers, said revenues jumped in the period by 19 per cent year on year to £88 million, aided by online sales that increased by 22 per cent in the period.

Fortnum & Mason’s pre-tax profit grew by a record 31 per cent to £5m, after adding a new store and bar at Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5 last year, which it said has “consistently out-performed expectations”. Like-for-like sales across the group grew by 13 per cent.

The business said it also benefited from the introduction of a new beauty store and the relaunch of the wine and spirits department at its flagship store in London’s Piccadilly, where the business was founded in 1707.

Last month the group also launched a new restaurant in London, called 45 Jermyn Street, which it said is already trading ahead of budget.

Chairman Kate Hobhouse said: “We are delighted with these figures, which are the reward for the programme of enhancements we have brought to the brand during the year. The past few years have seen us expand as a store, and I am particularly pleased that we have managed to do this without compromising the essence of Fortnum & Mason.

“We’re now focused on Christmas of course, and all the signs suggest we are going to have our best festive season on record.”

The firm was established by William Fortnum and Hugh Mason, and also has an outlet at London’s St Pancras International station, opened in 2013, and a 9,400 square-foot store in Dubai, which welcomed its first customers last year. It also claims to have created the world’s first Scotch egg.