A growing appetite among shoppers for the county’s sparkling wine have kept bosses at a Kent winemaker happy despite widening losses.

Gusbourne Estate more than tripled sales last year to £434,000 as it continued to expand, planting another 50 acres of vineyards in its 352 acre estate around Appledore in Romney Marsh. It also owns vineyards in parts of West Sussex.

The investment, worth about £588,000, meant pre-tax losses grew to more than £1.1 million, up from £666,000 in 2013, in what the company called “planned losses”.

The company spent £137,000 on winery equipment and incurred administrative expenses of £918,000

The results for the vineyard, which is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, are the first for a full-year of trading since it was bought by Shellproof, owned by Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft, for £7 million.

Operating losses were £919,000, up from £636,000 for the nine months to the end of 2013.

Chairman Andrew Weeber, who founded the business in 2004, said: “The ongoing dedication and hard work from the entire team has ensured that 2014 will be recorded as a year of progress and solid achievement for the group.

“We remain passionate about our wines and firmly on track towards achieving our long term plans.”

Bosses said the 2014 harvest was “very successful” and the second earliest in the firm’s history.

The winery is financed by its own cash resources, bank loans and convertible bonds. Bank loans and convertible bonds were worth £3,866,000 at the end of 2014, representing 49% of equity.

The company raised £1.8 million in November after issuing new shares.