Sainsbury raises millions to fund expansion

London British supermarket chain Sainsbury said it planned to raise about 445 million pounds (US$732 million) by placing shares and issuing bonds to fund expansion.

It immediately raised more than half the amount, about 242 million pounds, after selling new shares each priced at 310 pence.

Earlier in the day, the group also said its sales had grown by 7.8% in the 12 weeks to June 13, compared with the same period of last year, despite a deep recession in Britain.

The company said the funds would enable it to increase its planned gross space growth over the next two years from 10% to 15%. Sainsbury added it would be buying nine more stores from the Co-Operative Group in addition to the 24 already purchased.