An investment trust has bought six supermarket sites, totalling almost a quarter of a million square foot, for £113 million.

Supermarket Income Reit (SUPR) made the purchases after its investment adviser acknowledged the “strength of demand for grocery property” earlier this month.

Morrisons, which owns a large number of its freeholds, is the subject of a bidding war between two US private equity firms.

SUPR’s biggest purchase was a Tesco in Prescot, Merseyside for £50 million.

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It also acquired its first Marks & Spencer foodhall in West Derby, Liverpool, which it bought with a local Aldi for £10.2 million.

The trust also snapped up another Aldi in Oldham plus two Morrisons across Cumbria and Durham.

Ben Green, who advises SUPR, said the properties would mean “geographic and tenant diversification” and “deliver attractive long-term income”.

The investor’s share price spiked at 121.5p after yesterday’s announcement before declining to 199.5p, below its level on Friday.

It could lose up to ten properties from its portfolio between December and January, when Sainsbury’s has the option to buy sites it currently leases.

The Big 4 grocer bought 13 stores from the trust earlier this month.

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