Ocado has declared a price war against supermarket giant Tesco, vowing to match the grocer’s prices on 3,500 branded products.

Grocery home delivery company Ocado, part-owned by John Lewis, hopes the price battle will attract thousands more customers in the coming months. The business has lost almost£300 million in the eight years since it began.

Ocado chief executive Tim Steiner said: “We have a reputation for superior service and excellent quality, but we have been perceived as too expensive and out of reach of many households. From Wednesday, that will no longer be the case.”

A Tesco Spokesman said: “It’s good to see that Ocado regards Tesco’s low prices as a benchmark.”