Tesco has announced a 2.3% increase in UK like-for-like sales, combined with a 14.7% hike in Booker like for likes, in its first half interim trading results.

The completion of the Booker takeover in March helped drive pre-tax profits up by 2.0% to £564m for the 26 weeks ending 25 August 2018.

Second quarter like-for-like UK sales rose by 2.5%, marking the 11th consecutive quarter of growth.

Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis said he was “delighted” with the performance of Booker since the acquisition in March.

“We have made a good start to the year. The step up in Q2 is driven mainly by the UK & ROI and delivers our eleventh consecutive quarter of growth,” he said.

“We announced a strategic alliance with Carrefour in July which goes live this month. And we are now more than half-way through the biggest own brand re-launch in our nearly 100-year history, including a significant investment in over 300 new ‘Exclusively at Tesco’ products at market-leading prices.”

He added: “We are firmly on track to deliver our medium-term ambitions and are continuing to improve the quality and value of our offer for customers in all of our markets. In doing so, we are well-positioned to deliver strong, sustainable returns for shareholders.”