Sweet success for Hotel Chocolat

Sales at Hotel Chocolat came in ahead of expectations for the full year, helped by a Father's Day campaign that boosted the firm's performance.

The award winning luxury chocolate chain said annual revenue rose 12% to £92.6m, with the retailer's online arm seeing growth of 20%.

The very first Hotel Chocolat shop opened its doors to guests in North London in 2004. It was the start of a revolution in British chocolate by entrepreneurs Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris.

In May, the company listed on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market, valuing it at more than £200m.

Thirlwell said: "Hotel Chocolat has had a good start as a listed company, with pleasing growth slightly above expectations.

"We remain confident in our strategy. Our plans to invest further in our British chocolate manufacturing operations, in new stores, and in our digital offering are all progressing well."

The group said its Father's Day campaign, Better Than Socks, performed "particularly well" and that it plans to open four new stores this year.

Founded in 1993, Hotel Chocolat started selling chocolates online, becoming one of the UK’s earliest ever ‘e-tailers’, predating the likes of Amazon and eBay.

Now, the company runs 81 stores across the globe, a hotel in St Lucia and restaurants in London and in Leeds.

If you’ve enjoyed this article, click on the link below to sign up for more similar stories in your region.