Primark, the discount clothing chain owned by Associated British Foods, plans to open a pilot store in Belgium this year, as it increasingly seeks to replicate its British and Irish popularity in continental Europe.

The Belgian store, which is scheduled for Liège, follows openings in Germany, Portugal and the Netherlands through pilot stores in respectively Bremen, Lisbon and Rotterdam. John Bason, ABF finance director, said that the European expansion was following a template set by its entry into Spain, where, having started with one store as a test, Primark now has 13 branches.