Sainsbury’s: Ivory tower

Sainsbury’s has thumbed its nose at Robert Tchenguiz. The combative property tycoon wants the UK supermarket group to spin its property assets off into a tax-efficient real-estate investment trust (Reit), which as a 5% shareholder, he would hold an interest in. Instead Sainsbury’s has done no more than state what the property is worth - £8.6bn - and say it plans to keep it. With Sainsbury’s where it is now, to do otherwise would be impractical. Its low margins mean it could barely pay the rent ...