Majestic Wine thanked strong demand for both Old and New World wines as it toasted a surge in half-year profits and sales.

The wine warehouse chain, which has outlets across the region, saw sales jump 27.9 per cent to £56.8m in the 26 weeks to September, or 10.7 per cent on an underlying basis.

Demand grew across the board, with wines from Australia, South Africa, Chile, Italy and the French regions all increasing their share of sales. Champagne and sparkling wine also performed well.

Customers also splashed out on large amounts of wine - the average purchased bottle price was £5.32 but spend per transaction at the stores averaged £103.

The group has also continued to expand and three new stores were opened in the period, in Dorchester, Bromley and Leicester, while the number of active customers on Majestic's mailing list rose 9.3 per cent to 281,000.