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Northern supermarket giant Booths saw its biggest ever single sales day as it reported record Christmas week sales.

The upmarket family-owned chain, known as the “Waitrose of the North”, said like-for-like retail sales rose 9.3% in the key three-week trading period ending Jan 4 – compared to an 8.3% uplift in 2023.

It said Christmas week sales hit record levels and were up 6.7% on last year. Meanwhile, on December 23 it “recorded the biggest ever single day sales at Booths”.

The Lancashire group said like-for-like sales at its butchers counters grew by 16% in December, while both fruit and veg sales were up more than 10%. Sales of Christmas cheese were up by 29%, while sales of single malt whiskeys from distilleries across the º£½ÇÊÓƵ rose by more than 6%.

Booths makes many Christmas specialties, including pigs in blankets, in-house at its Preston manufacturing sites. Pigs in blankets sales were up 14% on the previous Christmas.

The group is also continuing to grow its Café 1847 concept, which is available in selected stores and opened in the Knutsford store in September 2024.

Last month Booths saw sales pass £300m for the first time. It also slashed its pre-tax losses from £4 million to £1.5 million.

Managing director Nigel Murray said, “Booths really does love Christmas, and this is reflected in our strong performance again this year. Customers trust us to provide the best quality and store experiences and we are delighted to deliver.