Buckfast sales shoot up as monks' profits reach £43m

Sales of Buckfast have rocketed as the company that produces the drink reported pre-tax profits increasing by more than £750,000.

Sales of Buckfast increased during the last financial year

J Chandler and Co saw its pre-tax profits rise to £43.2 million.

The firm expects sales to continue to rise - with the tipple remaining popular across Scotland, despite the drink’s link to violent crime.

J Chandler director Jonathan Sharp, said: “The results for this year and the financial position at the year-end were considered satisfactory by the directors who expect relative stability of sales in the future.

“The company expects moderately increased underlying turnover during the year 2017/18 although profits will continue to be affected by the worsening exchange rate with the Euro following Brexit.”

He added: “The largest uncertainty concerns the change in wine prices going forward, and the effect of any consequential price.

“To mitigate these risks, the company has continued to concentrate on purchasing high quality materials at competitive prices to maintain and enhance the quality of the finished product.”

The tonic wine - linked to violent crime and anti-social behaviour in Scotland - is made at Buckfast Abbey in Devon.

The drink has been made by the Benedictine monks of Buckfast Abbey since the 1920s when the Benedictine brothers developed tonic wine. In 2011, a new winery was completed at the abbey.

The pre-tax accounts also revealed that the company donated more than £100,000 to charity during the last financial year. Chandler and Co handed over £25,000 to Renfrewshire-based end-of-life care charity, Accord Hospice and a £20,000 donation to Macmillan Cancer Research.