The brothers, who own the private London & Regional property group, are talking to United about a deal that would see United Co-op pick up about 500 Somerfield stores from them if L&R's bid is successful.
London & Regional is working with Japanese bank Nomura, and an early disposal of stores would enable the consortium to pay back debt quickly, allowing it to increase the 205p a share proposal it tabled in April, valuing Somerfield at£1.1 billion.
Meanwhile, Somerfield is considering appealing against a ruling by the Competition Commission that it must sell 12 of the 115 stores it acquired from Morrisons.The company is understood to be taking legal advice ahead of its board meeting this Thursday.
The consortium of Barclays Capital, Robert Tchenguiz and Apax Partners is undertaking due diligence and said at the weekend that the ruling would make no difference to its bid plans.
The two bid groups are expected to present their proposals to the board this month.
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