Gloucestershire's most upmarket farm shop and a go-to favourite of ex-PM Boris Johnson has found itself in a tangle over development work carried out without permission.

Daylesford Organic Farm Shop, which employs more than 450 staff across four London stores and at its shop near Kingham, is currently awaiting approval from Cotswold District Council (CDC) to expand facilities at its main venue, which is a five-minute drive from celebrity Jeremy Clarkson's Oxfordshire farm, Diddly Squat.

The shop and brand, created in 2002 by Lady Carole Bamford, has built up a celebrity clientele including David Beckham, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Moss and former PM Boris Johnson.

During the lockdown, it was recorded that Number 10 spent £12,500 on 30 giant hampers and 100 specially prepared meals from the shop, while adjacent Daylesford House was last summer's venue for Mr Johnson's wedding celebrations with Carrie Johnson. Lady Carole and billionaire husband Lord Anthony Bamford, who is the chairman of JCB, are close friends of Mr Johnson.

In the last few years, Daylesford has beefed up its flagship farm complex by adding a new home and garden section to its shop and extending the on-site spa.

But on March 6th, the farm shop requested new work with condition variations on the demolition of various buildings, as well as the construction of a new gym and clubhouse with an outdoor pool and associated works.

Aa subsequent application, on March 15th, requested retrospective permission on elements of the project relating to car parking and two squash-tennis hybrid 'padel' courts. The request also related to an outdoor sports area, the erection of a store, a plant room and a sauna.

As a brand, Daylesford Organic announced a sales increase in January of 15%. Given strong demand from wholesale buyers, an upward trend in online purchasing and extensions to the Cotswold shop sales went up to £49.1m in the 52 weeks to March 26th last year, the previous year's figure being £42.7m.

The pandemic drove desire for Daylesford Organic products: in 2021, sales rose by 27% as customers, including Boris Johnson, stocked up online. For 2021, the business recorded a profit of £9,000, its first since it filed full accounts in 2005. Losses in previous years amounted to £65m.

Despite continued growth, Daylesford fell to a pre-tax loss of £291,000. The latest 2022 accounts suggest increased costs, post-Covid, have nudged the business back into the red.

A recent report from Forbes dubbed Daylesford as "the poshest shop in Britain".

Punchline approached Daylesford for comment.