Tesco sales continue to grow in “subdued” UK

Tesco saw its fifth consecutive year of Christmas trading growth, despite what its outgoing chief executive Dave Lewis described as a “subdued UK market”.

For the 19 weeks-ending 4 January, like-for-like sales in the UK were down 0.2% to £13.7 bn.

The retailer said it saw a strong performance in fresh food, including an enthusiastic customer response from customers for its plant-based foods range.

Tesco also revealed that its online grocery business delivered more than 14 million orders across the 19 week period.

In Tesco Booker, its wholesale business, like-for-like sales over the 19-week period leading up to Christmas rose by 4.1% to £2.2 bn. Tesco said that the acquisition of the assets of Best Food Logistics from Bidcorp was proceeding as planned and it anticipated completion in early March.