The group, which has 181 stores in the UK, said the number of customers who made purchases in the last year increased by 11% to 568,000, while the average bottle price of still wine was up to £7.34 from £6.94 the previous year.

Majestic also saw an 18.5% jump in sales of fine wines – £20 a bottle or more – from Burgundy, Bordeaux and New World ranges.

The group, which recorded 2.6% growth in like-for-like sales in the year to April 2, reported pre-tax profits of £23.2 million, compared to £20.3m the previous year.

However, Majestic said like-for-like sales had slowed to 0.6% in the first 10 weeks of the new financial year – reflecting comparisons with the Royal Wedding in 2011 – and warned the trading environment was likely to continue to be difficult.

The group said it was confident of being able to expand to 330 stores after opening 16 in the past financial year and a further three in Northallerton, Esher and Edinburgh since year-end.