Sainsbury family set to keep stake
Former chairman considering return to retail
Persistent suggestions that the Sainsbury family was ready to sell its 30 per cent stake in the UK supermarket business have been confounded by reports that Lord Sainsbury is ready to return to a hands-on role in the company.
As David Sainsbury, Lord Sainsbury was chairman of Sainsbury’s for six years, giving up the post when he joined the Labour government in 1998, He has made his mark as science and innovation minister at the Department of Trade and Industry.
With current Sainsbury’s chairman Sir Peter Davis due to spend just a year in the role after stepping up from group chief executive, a return to Sainsbury’s for the head of the family after the general election, widely expected next summer, would make sense in timing terms.
Lord Sainsbury, who personally owns around 13 per cent of the business, placed his shares in a blind trust after joining the government. With Sainsbury’s having lost market share and conceded the number two position in the supermarket league table to Asda, he is reported to have told friends that he is frustrated at not being able to influence the direction of the group, which has been through a major revamp under Sir Peter.
The return of a family member of the business would also be key to rallying the Sainsbury clan, with some members said to be keen to sell, and others believing it would be a mistake to do so at a time when the business is underperforming.
The DTi insists Lord Sainsbury has no plans to quit. However, a City source told [i]The Guardian [/i]newspaper: “Lord Sainsbury’s holding and his attitude to the group’s future are obviously key and reports that he wants out of politics so he is free to shape events are clearly accurate.
“This will ignite speculation. His stake is the key to the family’s holding, which in turn delivers almost a third of the company.”
