High street grocer Somerfield is to open more smaller stores as it seeks to distance itself further from big supermarkets.

Somerfield also said it plans to open 250 shops over the next three years, fuelling speculation that the business could be a potential acquisition target for Asda, Morrisons or Sainsbury’s.

Somerfield group strategy director Oliver Meakin said that the new stores would measure between 2,000 and 5,000 sq ft, which is substantially smaller than the 7,000 sq ft average size of its existing 900 shops.

“If you look at our estate, we are trading best in stores up to 7,000 sq ft. Those [smaller] stores are easier to find,” said Meakin.

In the past 13 weeks, he said that Somerfield’s larger stores had delivered like-for-like sales rises of between 2.5 and 6 per cent, but smaller shops had been up between 5 and 8 per cent.

Meakin said growth has been driven by promotions, particularly its TV campaign launched in September, and enhancements made to stores and its product offer since the business was taken private in a£1.8 billion deal in January 2006 by a consortium comprised of Robert Tchenguiz, Apax and Barclays Capital.

Meakin was optimistic about seasonal trading. “We are set to have the best Christmas that Somerfield has ever had,” he said.

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