Tesco is poised to overtake all its smaller rivals in the UK to become the largest operator of convenience stores this year, research showed today.

Supermarket giant Tesco faced an 11th-hour hitch in its acquisition of Adminstore today with the news that the Federation of Wholesale Distributors was trying to block the deal.

British supermarket rivals Tesco and Sainsbury’s are circling cornershop chain Conveco in the latest round of consolidation in the convenience market, it was reported today.