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 branches in Hove, Chichester and East Grinstead, reported total sales jumped 27.9 per cent to £56.8 million in the 26 weeks to September.

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

In addition, French chain The Wine and Beer Company, which Majestic bought last year, has now been fully integrated into the group and rebranded as Wine and Beer World.