Hotel Chocolat goes on the 'front foot' after lowering its cost base

Commenting on the group’s first quarter progress, Angus Thirlwell, co-founder and chief executive officer, said: “Hotel Chocolat is on the front foot again.

"The hard, foundational work we put in last year is now starting to deliver the results for us.

“Our new store format is trading well above our expectations, with 12 new locations planned to open in the next year. Four of them are open already and they are located across the UK from Glasgow to Bournemouth.

“Our ongoing stores continue to perform strongly, benefitting from a raft of exciting new products, the resumption of in-store tasting and our unique Love March offer which reflects human individuality to closely match it across our Hotel Chocolat range.

"Trading in our railway station stores has rebounded as traveller numbers have increased.”

Hotel Chocolat, which has nine stores in Yorkshire, added: “UK customer demand for our in-home drinking chocolate system was resilient throughout FY23 (the full year 2023). We are close to achieving 1m UK households with a ‘Velvetiser’ and are confident we will surpass that number during FY24 (full year 2024).”