Wholesale giant Booker this morning unveiled like-for-like sales growth of 2.1% - as it said it continued to strive to give customers an ‘improved choice’.

Total sales for the 52 weeks to the 28 March 2014 increased by 17.3% to £4.7bn and profit before tax (pre-exceptionals) rose by 25% to £118.7m.

In a statement, the company: “The group’s trading in the first seven weeks of the current financial year is ahead of last year. We anticipate that the challenging consumer and market environment will persist through the coming year and the UK’s food market remains very competitive.”