Modest growth for wine merchant, Inverarity Vaults

Scotland's largest independent wine merchant Inverarity Vaults has announced a 4% rise in sales.

The company which is based in Biggar, said turnover increased to £7.42m.

Inverarity Vaults, which is almost 20 years old, sources wine from around the world and supplies hotels and restaurants.

The merchant said although 2009 had been tough it had kept all of its trade customers which included all Michelin-starred restaurants in Scotland.

Hamish Martin, managing director of Inverarity, said: "The hotel and restaurant trade, which forms the majority of our client base, really felt the pinch with people tightening their belts and spending less on evenings out."

However the company said it had recruited rather than cutting back on staff, doubling its sales force to bring the head count at Inverarity to more than 40.

Mr Martin said: "While many businesses were scaling back by reducing hours or cutting staff, we saw investing in good people as the only way to expand.

"We have built a reputation on unparalleled customer service and we weren't going to cut corners when our customers were most in need."