A luxury chocolate retailer has today announced better-than-expected trading results.

Hotel Chocolat, which has a store in Cheltenham, reported revenue of £105million for the 53 weeks ended 2 July.

On a comparable basis, revenue for the 52 weeks ended 25 June 2017 was £104million, an increase of 12 per cent compared to the previous year, which is slightly ahead of market expectations.

Twelve new Hotel Chocolat stores opened in the last financial year and they contributed five per cent to Group sales year-on-year.

Eight of the 12 new stores feature a café, a format which Hotel Chocolat said is working well.

The company said its spring seasonal ranges delivered encouraging results and, following successful trials, its cocoa-infused ice cream known as Ice Cream of the Gods, is now on sale in 37 locations.

A new website launched early in 2017 offering an improved shopping experience on tablets and smartphones.

Angus Thirlwell, co-founder and chief executive officer of Hotel Chocolat, said: "Hotel Chocolat has had another good year, with encouraging growth.

"We are excited about the progress made with our new shop and cafe format stores and our seasonal ranges continue to perform well."

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