New store openings a a refurbishment programme helped boost sales at Scottish convenience store group David Sands Ltd by over 20% during 2008, the company reports.

Sales for the year to December 31 2008 reached £34.6m, up from the previous year’s figure of £28.8m. The group also posted a pre-tax profit of £1.37m, an increase on 2007’s pre-tax profit of £1.12m.

The growth has been attributed to the chain’s increase in stores and improvement of existing shops. The group added another store to its number during 2008 and refurbished several branches, while in 2009 the group has already opened two new stores, bringing the total to 27.

Group CEO David Sands said that increasing store numbers is high on the group’s priorities but that it will continue to concentrate on the communities it operates in.

“We made great inroads during 2008 in terms of ramping up our store numbers and continuing with our refurbishment programme,” he said. “We are committed to growing David Sands by acquiring existing retail outlets and by building brand new stores. However, we are very much a community-focused retailer and will only purchase stores that are in locations where we know we can successfully combine the value-for-money offer and friendly service on which we have built our reputation and loyal customer base.”