Tesco has conceded that some of its past practices have been "both unsustainable and harmful to our suppliers".
The admission comes in a statement put out by the grocer following this week's publication of the Groceries Code Adjudicator's (GCA) report into historic supplier issues.

The adjudicator, Christine Tacon, said Tesco had seriously breached the industry's code of conduct to protect grocery suppliers.

The company had "knowingly delayed paying money to suppliers in order to improve its own financial position".

In its statement, Tesco said it accepted the findings of the report and that it would "continue to work collaboratively with suppliers to further build trust".

Group chief executive officer Dave Lewis said: "In 2014 we undertook our own review into certain historic practices, which were both unsustainable and harmful to our suppliers. We shared these practices with the adjudicator, and publicly apologised. Today, I would like to apologise again. We are sorry.

"We accept the report's findings, which are consistent with our own investigation."

He went on: "Over the last year we have worked hard to make Tesco a very different company from the one described in the GCA report. The absolute focus on operating margin had damaging consequences for the business and our relationship with suppliers. This has now been fundamentally changed."

Tesco has 3,000 UK suppliers and, according to the report, the overwhelming majority are more positive towards the company today.

New initiatives include Tesco becoming the first UK retailer to publish its payment terms with its suppliers, which it says results in a fair, transparent and consistent approach across its supply base. The move introduced payment terms of 14 days for hundreds of small and medium-sized businesses.