Adnams plans to build 30-strong Cellar & Kitchen estate
Suffolk brewer and retailer Adnams plans to have 30 Cellar & Kitchen stores open by 2012 as part of a plan to more than double profits in the next five years.
Adnams opened five Cellar & Kitchen stores in 2007 to bring its total to eight - it plans five more for this year.
Its opening a new site in Richmond, south London, in two weeks' time. The Richmond site will also offer a cafe bar, an idea already trialed at the Saffron Walden outlet.
Executive chairman Jonathan Adnams said: "There is no competitor in this area of the market - we're really excited."
The company is also opening a new flagship Cellar & kitchen in Southwold, using the latest environmental building techniques.
The Cellar & Kitchen concept has "benefited from the growth in the UK wine market," the company said.
Adnams also reported that its brands had held volumes in an on-trade market down 6.5%.
Turnover for the 12 months to 31 December 2007 was up 2.8% to £47.4m with profit before tax at £7.5m after property disposals.
Net debt was down by around £4m to £10.9m. Adnams also revealed it has turned down a proposal by an "activist investor" - believed to be Guinness Peat - to change the rights attached to the company's A shares.
A consultation exercise by the company had shown "strong support" for retaining the existing shares and "minimal appetite" for a change to the articles governing them.
Guinness Peat has a track record of piling pressure on brewers, having tried to push Young & Co into reforms.
