Primark suffered a summer washout as wet weather hit sales. 

The clothing giant said the rain made it harder to shift everything from flip-flops and T-shirts to light dresses and shorts over the past three months. 

As such, owner Associated British Food (ABF) warned Primark's UK sales were on course to be down by around 3.1 per cent in the fourth quarter to September 14. 

That follows a 0.6 per cent decline in the third quarter when it said business was hit by 'challenging weather, particularly in April and June'. 

Shares in ABF, which owns a sugar business and food brands including Kingsmill, Twinings and Ovaltine, as well as Primark, tumbled 8.5 per cent, or 212p, to 2289p. 

Overall, Primark sales are set to slip by 0.9 per cent in the fourth quarter after a stronger performance in Europe and the US offset weaker trade in the UK. 

ABF boss George Weston said: 'While the British weather was not in Primark's favour, robust growth in other markets and new store openings have driven good sales overall.' 

Primark has taken longer to adopt an online presence than rivals and is currently rolling out a click-andcollect scheme. 

Weston said yesterday it would take around a year to introduce this into every store in the UK but the company was 'pleased' with the reaction to trials. 

Consumer confidence is on the up and items to their baskets, he said. 

But he added: 'Quite frankly though, I have been surprised we have not had a more positive response from lower inflation rates and wage awards. It feels softer than I was expecting it to.' 

He blamed the poor weather as well as high interest and mortgage rates for this reluctance. 

And the business issued a warning about its sugar arm, which has been hurt by a dramatic drop in sugar prices across Europe. 

Profits in this division are now expected to be lower in the next financial year, with a forecast for between £50million and £75million. 

This is far lower than the expected £200million for the current financial year, which ends on Saturday next week. 

But the company is expecting a recovery in the year after due to contracted lower prices and supply and demand readjusting.