Tycoon dumps Sainsbury stake

J Sainsbury was the focus of intense City gossip today after it emerged that Iranian property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz has offloaded his stake in the supermarkets chain.

Kaupthing placed 168 million shares at 250p, with hedge funds and retail tycoon Sir Philip Green rumoured to be the buyers.

Sir Philip denied he had taken a 3% stake, but the talk persisted.

The news overshadowed a trading update showing like-for-like sales up 4.3% in the last 16 weeks. This compares well with Tesco's 4% rise, posted last week.

Chief executive Justin King saw the figures as proof that his turnaround of the stores continues to bear fruit.

He added that customers are shaving their bills by opting for the supermarket's own-brand goods.
"We continue to develop our offer to help customers manage tighter budgets," he said.