Rural lifestyle company Aga Foodservice Group is aiming to attract younger, more fashionable buyers.

Earlier this year, Aga spent £29.5m buying the tiles and interior furnishings group Fired Earth, based at Adderbury, near Banbury, as part of a bid to widen its "country house" market.

Aga makes branded cast-iron cookers and utensils, and traditionally its biggest market has been outside London.

Chief operating officer Stephen Rennie said: "We realised that some people see Aga as pigeonholed into the country house set. There was a perception that Aga would only fit in one type of kitchen setting."

The group is therefore launching a major marketing and advertising drive aimed at encouraging a "slightly younger, affluent urban market" to buy its cookers and products.

Mr Rennie said the group was aiming for a wider market, adding: "Our carefully targeted £3m investment in shops and marketing is the first phase in our objective to making Aga a major international business."

Aga's long-term goal is to sell 10,000 Agas worldwide per year by 2003. Mr Rennie said Aga was on track to sell 8,000 this year, but the urban market was an important part of hitting its final targets.

As part of Aga's revamp, the group sold off its Glynwed Pipe Systems business in March in a £786m deal.

The disposal, however, "heavily affected" Aga's figures for the six months to June 30.

Turnover was £244.7m, down on last year's figure of £475.7m, while pre-tax profits fell from £33.7m to £10.7m.

Chief executive William McGrath said: "While trading conditions are obviously uncertain, we have strong niche and brand-led businesses that make the opportunities available to us exciting."