The store said the pair's conditional offer greatly undervalued the company.

This latest news follows the rejection back in April of Lovering and Mackenzie's 103p a share offer.

According to Somerfield the offer was received on June 3. It was dependent on a number of conditions covering: due diligence; unanimous approval by Somerfield's board; financing and exclusivity as well as clearance by the Office of Fair Trading for the Sainsbury's chain to acquire a large number of selected Somerfield stores.

Somerfield said the latest offer represented a risk to the business and executive chairman John von Spreckelsen said: 'This latest approach substantially undervalues our business. We have strong brands in Somerfield and Kwik Save, a solid strategy for delivering shareholder value and excellent prospects. The strategy is underpinned by a very strong balance sheet and a valuable property portfolio.'