Booker bucks trend with sales rise

Booker, the cash-and-carry wholesaler, has defied the gloom in the retail sector with strong sales boosted by record-breaking weather and extra bank holidays.

Booker, which has 170 branches in the UK and recently opened some in India, saw sales rise 9.5 per cent in the 12 weeks to 17 June, with like-for-like sales up 7.4 per cent.

As well as supplying more than 70,000 retail customers, including convenience stores, Booker is the country's largest food supplier to cinemas and also sells to prisons, Marks & Spencer and more than 300,000 catering customers.