Thornton’s Budgens hit by competition

The battle for food and drink sales in London's Crouch End has taken its toll on Andrew Thornton's high-profile Budgens stores, ­accounts have revealed.

The retailer, whose Crouch End store has hit the headlines for selling squirrel meat and growing vegetables on its roof to sell in the store, saw sales slump 8.2% to £16m in the year to 30 September 2010.

Thornton said sales at its Belsize Park store had continued to grow, but his Crouch End store had faced competition from Waitrose, which opened a store just 140ft away in October 2009.

"The good people of Crouch End can only eat so much food," he said. The store would return to growth by playing on its strengths, he added. "We're doing a lot of work to develop and communicate those strengths."

Despite the difficult ­trading conditions, pre-tax profits grew by 1.6% to £137,021.