In the 13 weeks to December 30, the retailer saw its UK like-for-like sales grow by 8.1% and it was the top-performing grocer in volume growth terms.

Food sales increased by 10.5% on a total basis and 9.9% on a like-for-like basis, which M&S said was helped by supply chain improvements and growth in categories such as meat, poultry, produce, grocery and in-store bakery.