Pre-tax profits have fallen by more than a half to £1.6m at Booths.

The high-end supermarket chain's bottom line was hit by a downturn in sales in the face of strong competition from discount grocers, according to newly filed accounts at Companies House.

The family-owned company, which has stores across Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cumbria and Cheshire, saw sales dip to £280.8m – with chairman Edwin Booth admitting that embracing a new click-and-collect service and nationwide deliveries put a strain on its central operations.

Booths' results show that it generated pre-tax profits of £1.6m in the year ending last March – down by 59 per cent from £3.9m in the previous year.

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Turnover slipped to £280.8m from £282.2m in the same period, though the popularity of the Booths loyalty card helped limit the reduction in sales.

Mr Booth described the figures as 'solid' results against the backdrop of a tumultuous grocery market.

He said: "We have experienced a modest reduction in sales due to a number of factors, not least the significant degree of deflation on input prices and continued downward pressure on retail prices as our competitors fight for market share.

"Over the period under review, our sales decline was in line with the market.

"Despite signs of a recovering UK economy, business growth in our sector remains difficult to achieve for all with the exception of the discounters."

He added that a considerable amount of work had now ensued to guarantee integrity in the supply chain over Christmas and the store chain would be working hard to secure new business.