Spar retailer Tates has revealed its strongest sales growth for several years with a 6% year-on-year rise.
The retailer posted store sales of £261m for the year to April 2007 and spent more than £4m on refurbishments and redevelopments.
The figures were revealed at the retailer's annual managers' conference in Blackpool. Tates managing director Geoff Hallam praised the performance: "The great summer helped fuel growth but even in September and beyond sales remained strong."
Tates managers were also addressed by Peter Blakemore, Tates chairman and managing director of parent company AF Blakemore & Son. He added: "Our core values have helped us build on our success. Being a family-owned company which is interested in being around for the long term, we are not driven by short-term financial gain. Other core values are that we care for our customers and the communities we operate in and have a sense of corporate responsibility that is not driven by short-term PR gain."