The retail arm of Highgrove made a pre-tax loss of almost £900,000 last year after the Covid crisis forced the Prince of Wales to shut up shop.

The Prince sells a range of organic foods and lifestyle products through two Highgrove shops, one at his Gloucestershire estate and another in nearby Tetbury.

Highgrove also has a tea room and runs tours of its gardens. However, Covid restrictions meant the gardens opened for only five weeks in summer 2020, while the Tetbury shop was closed for six months. AG Carrick, the company that runs the retail arm, did not claim furlough or receive any special grants or loans.

The drop in trading resulted in a pre-tax loss of £866,000 for the last financial year, according to financial statements filed at Companies House. The company made a profit the previous year.

As a result, AG Carrick was not able to make any donation to the Prince’s charitable fund. Instead, the fund made a social investment in the company.

Accounts showed that AG Carrick was gifted to The Prince’s Foundation in July, meaning the Foundation will directly receive all proceeds from the shops and tours.

‘Measures have been taken to reduce costs and mitigate losses’

In its directors’ report, the company said it had prepared a “prudent downsize scenario” for this summer, based on reduced tour sizes and no income from events. “Measures have been taken to reduce costs and mitigate losses while retaining our ability to reopen when allowable and safe to do so,” the report said.

Duchy Originals, the organic food range founded by the Prince and now totalling more than 300 products, donated £3.6 million to the charitable fund last year.

The Prince of Wales Charitable Foundation gave out grants totalling £4.91 million in the last financial year, according to its accounts. The figure included £348,025 in small grants to 93 organisations, many facing significant challenges as a result of the pandemic.

The Foundation set up an emergency Covid-19 Recovery Fund to help projects in deprived communities, improving health and well-being, social inclusion and education.

They include Erskine Hospital, a Scottish charity for veterans, Good Companions, a Nottingham charity which offers befriending and home visiting schemes for older people facing loneliness and social isolation, and Footprints in the Community, in Redcar, which runs a food bank, community cafe and book club aimed at improving children’s literacy.