Takeover speculation surrounding Sainsbury’s could be on the rise following a move by Brandes, the US fund management group, to increase its holding in the UK retailer.

Brandes has taken a further one per cent in Sainsbury’s, increasing its share to 11.2 per cent. The group is already the retailer’s largest institutional shareholder, behind the founding family’s share of 30 per cent.

Brandes is also a major shareholder in Morrisons with an 8.1 per cent stake. Morrisons saw its share price drop yesterday by 6p to 213p.

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