Patisserie Valerie toasts afternoon teas as sales pass £100m

Sales at the firm behind Patisserie Valerie have topped £100 million for the first time as the company notched up its 10th straight year of revenue and profit growth.

Revenue at Patisserie Holdings, chaired by serial entrepreneur Luke Johnson, rose 13.3% to £104.1 million in the year to September 30.

Pre-tax profits rose 18.2% to £17.2 million as Patisserie hailed the success of its afternoon teas, of which it sold 133,000 over the year.

But Mr Johnson flagged "uncertain economic conditions" as he vowed to control costs.

"We have achieved growth in revenues and profits despite uncertain economic conditions and, for the first time, we have exceeded revenues of £100 million - a significant achievement.

"We will continue to control costs and manage our supply chain in this period of macro-economic uncertainty; thus I am confident of another successful year of growth," he said.

The company added that its biggest cost pressure is the National Living Wage, with the firm introducing a new staff rostering method to mitigate the impact.

Patisserie Holdings, which also operates Druckers, Baker & Spice and Philpotts, opened 21 new stores in the period and now has 184 overall.