Diluted result: Majestic Wine posts half-year loss and warns over trading

Majestic Wine has tumbled to a loss while warning about the impact of “tough” retail conditions. The drinks retailer said it swung to a pre-tax loss of £200,000 for the six months to 1 October from profits of £3.1 million a year earlier, after previously-flagged efforts to attract more customers. It cautioned it now expects underlying earnings across its retail and commercial divisions to be flat “at best” in 2018-19. Boss Rowan Gormley also revealed plans to stockpile up to an extra £8m of wine ahead of Brexit amid delivery concerns.