Shares in online grocer Ocado were up this morning after the company announced that it had maintained double digit sales growth and shipped 250,000 orders in a single week for the first time. In the 12 weeks to February 21st, Ocado saw average orders per week grow 16.9%, leading to gross group sales rising 13.8%.

Tim Steiner, Ocado's chief executive officer, said: "We are pleased with the steady progress in our business, maintaining double digit sales growth in a retail environment that remains challenging, and post period end we shipped over 250,000 orders in a single week for the first time. "We believe our focus on customer satisfaction and commitment to improving what we offer to consumers through innovation and our proprietary IP will support further growth.  Notwithstanding the tough nature of the marketplace, we expect to continue growing ahead of the online grocery market.”