Lidl’s UK business swung to a £75.9m loss in the last year despite sales soaring.

The loss came against a £41.1m profit the year before. On an EBIT level, profits plunged from £79m to £28.5m in the year to 28 February.

Over the year, sales rose nearly 19% to £9.3bn at the discount grocer as its market share rise from 6.1% to 7.1%, marking its fastest growth in the past five years.

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The retailer had invested more than £100m in keeping prices low over the year.

Lidl GB CEO Ryan McDonnell vowed to maintain a focus on prices, as the company drew in 1.4m extra shoppers with more households looking to cut costs.

He said: “We’ve invested in keeping our prices low for customers in what has been a very challenging year for most and, with many more customers flooding through our doors each day, our ambition is to ensure that every single household has access to high quality, affordable food at their local Lidl store”.

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