Booker retail sales grew by 11%

Retail sales rose to more than £3.2b but tobacco sales dropped by 4.3% to £1.86bn.

Overall, including catering (up 10%) and logistics, Booker delivered like-for-like growth of 5.4%.

The growth in retail sales was supported by a further 211 net new retail partners in the second half of the year (354 over the full year) and what the company said were record levels of availability.

“Our entry level ranges, Euroshopper and Jack’s, performed particularly strongly, with sales up 16% year on year as we expanded the number of lines within these ranges in response to customer demand,” the company said.

“Customer satisfaction improved across the year due to our focus on availability and value.

“Tobacco sales declined by 4.3% overall, reflecting an ongoing market volume contraction.”

In November, Booker repurposed a former Makro depot in Fareham, Hampshire, into a 120,000sq ft distribution centre, which the wholesaler said at the time would improve choice for its retail customers.

But Booker has also faced criticism in recent weeks from retailers who claimed a range reduction was “slowly squeezing them out of business”.