Fentimans runs tight ship to boost profits despite consumer spending issues

2025-04-06 08:55:52

Hexham-based company Fentimans has won world-class awards for its tonic water

Soft drinks maker Fentimans has grown profits despite cost of living issues continuing to eat away at consumers' spending power.

The Northumberland-based seller of botanically brewed drinks, including its ginger beer and rose lemonade, saw operating profits before exceptional costs rise from £97,153 to £1.38m last year, and a pre-tax loss of more than £655,000 converted to a pre-tax profit of £1.4m. New accounts filed for the Hexham firm show it managed to boost earning despite falling sales.

Fentimans saw gross sales dip to £39.5m from £42.9m as turnover fell to £35.6m from £38.9m. Bosses said the gains had come thanks to significant cost savings made in the face of what it called a "challenging backdrop" with weakening demand.

CEO Ian Bray said the business was tightly run and outlined a number of cost cutting measures including a glass light-weighting project; looking for efficiencies with suppliers; tight management of marketing budgets and continuous improvement of processes. Fentimans has Next Page