SUPERMARKET chain Morrisons last night said it had overcome the distraction of a high-profile takeover battle to deliver booming sales.

The Bradford group, which is bidding for Safeway, said that like-for-like sales had risen 8.4 per cent in the 14 weeks to May 11.

Headed by Sir Ken Morrison, the group is due to meet the Competition Commission on Tuesday to discuss its approach for Safeway, which sparked a potential five-way bidding war.

Morrisons, which has stores throughout the North-East, tabled an offer for Safeway in January.

Bids by three other interested parties, Tesco, Asda owner Wal-Mart and Sainsbury's, have all been referred to the competition watchdog. British Home Stores has also expressed an interest.

In a statement yesterday, Morrisons said that during the 14-week period, more people had shopped in its stores and, on average, they had spent more.

Total sales were ahead by 14.2 per cent while, excluding petrol sales. Morrisons said sales were up 12.5 per cent and 6.9 per cent on a like-for-like basis.

Despite bidding for the UK's fourth largest supermarket chain, Morrisons has been pressing ahead with a multi-million pound expansion programme which should see 15 new stores and the creation of 4,500 jobs during the next year.

Although none of the new outlets are planned for the North-East, the biggest concentration of stores are in the region.