Pre-tax profits at Aldi jumped from £152.6m to £536.7m, which Mr Hurley said was thanks to higher cost savings across the business. 

Aldi’s profit margin increased significantly, rising from 1.2pc in 2022 to 3.1pc last year. 

Retail analyst Ged Futter said this was likely down to price increases on its shelves. He said: “They are not as competitive as they were before. I don’t doubt that there’s a price gap [with rivals], but the price gap now is probably less than it was before.”

Research by Which last spring showed that Aldi and Lidl had more than doubled the price of some everyday groceries in the early months of 2023.

Aldi’s expansion push comes as the discounter is plotting to increase its store estate from more than 1,000 stores to 1,500 across the country.

Pre-tax profits jumped to £536.7m last year from £152.6m in 2022 due to higher cost savings across the business. 

The company has been lobbying Sir Keir Starmer in an attempt to speed up planning permission for new supermarkets as it battles to get plans approved by local councils. George Brown, Aldi’s national real estate director, said he had met with the Prime Minister’s senior special adviser last week. 

The supermarket has previously warned that excess red tape and planning objections by rivals were constraining the speed at which it could expand across the UK.

Mr Hurley said: “The competitor objections do slow the planning process down. What’s important to stress, though, is that it doesn’t in any way change our appetite or will to grow the business.

“From our side, if planning is dragged out over a long period, there’s an expense to that and also a lost opportunity. So of course, we would welcome investments which can drive decisions more quickly.”

It added that it would also refurbish 100 existing stores and expand its distribution centres under a two-year £1.4bn investment plan.