Nisa waiting for Sainsbury’s offer after sales slip

Question marks remained over Sainsbury’s potential £130 million takeover of Nisa today, as the convenience stores chain posted a sales fall but gave no update on the deal.

Member-owned Nisa is looking for a buyer amid an industry shake-up caused by Tesco’s £3.7 billion swoop on wholesaler Booker. It reiterated it has received a proposal that warrants a period of exclusivity to carry out due diligence, but it still waiting for a formal offer.

Sainsbury’s, probably spurred on by the Tesco-Booker tie-up, is understood to be the front-runner.

Nisa sales were £1.3 billion in the year to April 2, 2.6% lower than a year earlier partly due to the loss of business following convenience chain My Local’s collapse. Pre-tax profit was £2.8 million compared with a £5.4 million loss in 2016 thanks to cost cuts.

Boss Nick Read said Nisa has “a sustainable business model with which to move forward and grow our membership”.