The UK could sustain another 200 independent wine shops, bringing the total to around 1,000, according to a major new study.

David Dodd, formerly of Wal-Mart and one of the UK’s most respected location planning managers, has divided the country into 19,500 districts and pinpointed the markets that mirror the characteristics of places where top-performing merchants already exist.

Forty of the top 200 locations on the list are in London, although the catchment area that tops the table is West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, followed by Didsbury in Greater Manchester.

Fifteen locations in the West Midlands have been identified as fertile ground for new independents, including seven areas in Birmingham alone.

Scotland could sustain seven more merchants, the research suggests, while Wales and Northern Ireland should be able to accommodate two apiece – though only in Cardiff and Belfast.

Brighton, Bristol and Reading each has room for four new wine shops. But Cornwall looks to have reached saturation point and is not represented in the top 200.

The project was sponsored by Wine Intelligence and forms the basis of a new report which analyses the state of play in the independent wine trade.