Popular Milton Keynes robots have stopped delivering from all Tesco Express stores

MK’s much-loved robots are no longer delivering from Tesco Express stores.

The company behind the robots, Starship Technologies, has announced that the service from Tesco has been “paused”.

Meanwhile, they have entered into an agreement with cash and carry giant Booker, the company behind the Londis, Budgens and Premier convenience chains.

Ironically Booker part of the Tesco Group after the supermarket giant bought the company for £3.7bn in 2017.

The new Booker agreement will allow Starship to use the robots at Londis, Budgens and Premier stores all over MK and elsewhere. This will improve delivery times and offer customers more choice, says the company.

It is part of a move that the company says will allow it to offer faster delivery times and more choice.

A Starship spokesperson said: "Since we added Tesco to our offering, we’ve been staggered by the strength of demand. Today our robots are busier than ever, and we’re happy to report that our first project with Tesco has been a success. Accordingly, we’re looking forward to the next phase of our journey and we want to share a service update.

“We will pause deliveries from Tesco Express stores. This will allow us to focus on working with Booker (part of the Tesco Group). Booker works with retailers such as Londis, Budgens and Premier, and we plan on offering delivery from some of these retailers later this month.”

He added: “Aside from our popular Co-op offering, we know this will be an inconvenience for customers who enjoy shopping with Tesco Express. But this news means that soon there will be more grocery stores to choose from in our app and, in many cases, faster delivery times from store to door.

“We can’t thank you enough for continually helping Starship to demonstrate the benefits of battery-powered robot deliveries to the world”.

The news comes after Tesco, which is the UK’s largest retailer, announced last month that its profits have dropped by 50% from £2 billion to £1 billion over the past financial year.

But the company still maintained a “strong sales performance” despite the cost of living crisis and rising inflation.