Sainsbury's bags a Jubilee lead over Tesco

Sainsbury's has again shown the grocery sector market leader Tesco a clean pair of heels as first-quarter sales rose because of the Diamond Jubilee and its clothing range designed by the TV celebrity Gok Wan.

The UK's third-biggest supermarket said its smaller convenience stores were its star performers, though online grocery sales rose 20 per cent over the 12 weeks to 9 June.

Sainsbury's like-for-like sales grew 1.4 per cent over the period – its 30th consecutive quarter of growth. Figures were behind the 2.6 per cent growth in the fourth quarter but beat numbers on Monday from Tesco, where UK like-for-like first-quarter sales fell 1.5 per cent, although that did not include the Jubilee holiday.

When the sun shone in May, Sainsbury's had its "strongest sales week on clothing", boosted by its fourth collection of Gok for Tu.