Aldi pulls in the customers as Britons seek discount bargains

The recession may officially be over, but Britons are still flocking to discount supermarket Aldi, with the German-owned retailer recording a huge, 29 per cent growth in sales during the 12 weeks to 28 October.

The figures, from industry analyst Kantar Worldwide, reveal Aldi took £709m through its tills during those three months – growth which means the supermarket now holds a 3 per cent share of Britain's grocery market – even though it only opened its first store in the UK in 1990.

Aldi has major expansion plans in Britain, opening 29 stores last year and with plans to invest £181m in 40 new stores by the end of 2013, taking its estate in this country to more than 500 branches.

But the Kantar figures also reveal that Morrisons' boss Dalton Philips may need to explain his chain's performance to investors when it posts third-quarter results tomorrow.

The supermarket's total till roll fell back 0.4 per cent during the 12 weeks to 28 October, meaning its market share slips to 11.5 per cent, down from 12 per cent this time last year.