Majestic toasts festive sales success

MAJESTIC Wines toasted a vintage Christmas performance today as Britain's biggest wine warehouses chain reported like-for-like sales up 10.4% during the festive trading period from a year ago.

The trading figures showed the company's specialist wine retailing model beating off the wider malaise on the High Street.

Chief executive Tim How said: 'We are delighted with our sales performance over the Christmas period. Wines from Bordeaux, Italy, Chile and New Zealand sold very well and champagne sales grew strongly.'

Majestic founder and chairman John Apthorp plans to retire, aged 70, in the summer. His departure raises questions about the 40% stake in the business he controls directly and through family trusts.

While he is said to be committed to the business, analysts said a disposal of some of the shares would be keenly received by investors wanting to buy into the group.

How first worked for Apthorp as chief executive of his Bejam frozen foods business. After that was sold to Iceland in 1991, the pair and another former Bejam executive, Tim Mason, took over the company's wine warehouse, then called Wizard Wines.

Apthorp subsequently invested some of the proceeds of the Bejam sale in founding Majestic Wine. He will be replaced by former Hamleys toy store chairman Simon Burke, already a non-executive director at Majestic.