Fortnum & Mason has reported record sales figures despite last year’s UK Uncut “tax avoidance” protests.

The luxury food and drink retailer recorded £54.9m sales for the year to July, an 8% increase on 2010, according to The Daily Telegraph.

These figures, leading to pre-tax profits of £1.1m – a £7m increase on 2009 when a £5.9m loss was recorded – came despite last March’s 130 person sit-in, which reportedly cost £54,000 in sales.

The store, belonging to the Weston family who also own Selfridges, was again in the news for the wrong reasons earlier this month when some customers were left waiting for their Christmas deliveries at the end of the first week of January.

Chief executive Beverley Aspinall admitted Fortnums had had problems with a “challenging” IT system but vowed to address the issues.

She said: “We continue to invest in our new ordering system and ensure that we do not have the same delivery issues that we had this Christmas – excellence of customer service in all aspects of our business is paramount.”

Aspinall, who earned £430,000 last year, also said the retailer was wary of future challenges despite “strong sales growth”.

She said: “Although short-term prospects are not as healthy as the previous two years and we remain cautious, our focus is very much on the long term development of Fortnum & Mason.”