Sainsbury's takeover faces pension hurdle

The Sainsbury family will hold out against a Qatari takeover unless funding of the supermarket chain’s pension scheme is resolved, it emerged today.

A statement for principal family members has made it clear they would be opposed to a deal if the pension fund trustees were not on board.

Delta Two, which is controlled by the Qatar Investment Authority, is close to completing due diligence and could be in a position to announce an agreement with the board of the supermarket chain at the end of the week.