Push start from Fidelity helped Ocado get its flotation away

A number of analysts had warned the money raised from the stock market flotation would be insufficient. One of them, Dave McCarthy at Evolution, said: 'The business needs more capital invested before it stands a chance of breaking even.'

Steiner dismissed the claim saying: 'That's rubbish. I am sure we have sufficient cash flow to grow the business very, very substantially from where we are today.'

Shares in Ocado fell nearly 14% on the first day of conditional trading and are still trading below the offer price at 165.05p.

The company has not said how many customers bought shares in the group.