Ocado still waiting for its first profit

The business, which was set up in 2002 and now handles an average of 143,000 orders every week, said it enjoyed a year of “significant progress” in terms of growing customer numbers and average spend.

However, it made an underlying loss of £5.1m in year to December 1, with the recent launch of an online grocery service for Morrisons, based at a new distribution centre at Dordon, Warwickshire, adding to the bottom-line loss.

The deficit came as it emerged that Jason Gissing, a former Goldman Sachs banker, will leave the delivery business at its AGM in May. He started Ocado from scratch with Tim Steiner, who remains the company’s chief executive.

Chairman Sir Stuart Rose said: “Today the business is valued at £3bn, employing thousands of people, helping consumers around the UK in their busy lives. They have laid the foundations of a world-class business.”