Shares in Ocado were up on the FTSE 250 in morning trading after the food delivery company reported a rise in sales in the 12 weeks ended 20 February.

Gross sales were reported as being up 24.7 per cent to £146.2 million. Ocado said that the average number of orders per week increased 26.1 per cent to 103,207, while the average order size fell from £119.38 to £118.06.

Ocado said that it was struggling to cope with demand, which is currently outstripping its capacity to deliver. The group added that it is taking steps to increase its capacity in response.

Tim Steiner, Chief Executive Officer of Ocado, said, "Customer take up of the Ocado service continues apace with a 24.7% increase in gross sales. Despite the economic headwinds in the UK, more and more consumers are seeing the benefits of online grocery shopping and we are increasing capacity to meet this demand."

By 11:30 shares in Ocado were up 1.52 per cent on the FTSE 250 to 213.70 pence per share.

FTSE