Ocado sheds 10% after Lewis pension offload

The fund disposed of more than 57 million shares in Ocado - which has been one of the stock market's strongest performers in recent weeks - for 152m.

The sale, which came just days after the end of a six-month "lock-up" period on the shares following last July's float, prompted shares in Ocado to fall by 10.5 per cent to close at 255p.

Goldman Sachs, which managed the sale, said the shares had been bought by various institutional investors but did not elaborate. The disposal of the stake marks the exit of one of Ocado's historic financial backers and raised fears about a pick-up in competition with John Lewis's own upmarket grocery business, Waitrose.

Ocado mainly sells Waitrose products and the two are increasingly coming face-to-face as the latter expands its own online service into Ocado's heartlands in central London. However, Ocado said its commercial relationship with Waitrose would be unaffected and pointed out that they had signed a ten-year agreement in May.

Analysts from investment-banking group Jefferies said the key impact of the sale was to increase liquidity in Ocado's shares, arguing their recent steep gains were exacerbated by a lack of supply. "The placing is likely to lead to a partial reversal of recent supportive technicals," they said in a note.

The John Lewis pension fund said the stake sale was part of its "normal investment management activities".

Employee-owned John Lewis had transferred a 29 per cent stake in Ocado to the pension fund in 2008. The fund sold more than half that holding in Ocado's initial public offering in July at 180p, but was prevented from selling the rest for six months.

Ocado was founded in 2000 by three former Goldman Sachs bankers and counts Tetra Pak billionaire Jorn Rausing and the investment vehicle of former US vice-president Al Gore among its other shareholders.

l John Lewis yesterday reported a 1.2 per cent year-on-year rise in sales to 49.5m during the week to 5 February. Waitrose sales rose 9.8 per cent.