Aldi has confirmed its position as one of the few winners from the economic downturn, with sales rising by a quarter over the past year as wealthier Britons flocked to its stores.

The German chain, which had struggled to make inroads into the UK market after first arriving in Britain in the early 1990s, said the brand had finally built momentum over 2008 as shoppers, mindful of tightening household budgets, decided to try shopping at the so-called "hard discounter".