Member-owned convenience store group, Nisa Retail has brought in investment bank, Lazard to explore a possible sale, according to Sky News.
Lazard have been drafted in by Nisa Retail's board to examine the potential to bring in outside shareholders to the business, which trades across about 3,500 UK stores.
The project is at an early stage, and may conclude without any radical changes to Nisa Retail's ownership structure, according to insiders.
Around 1,400 members currently hold up to 250 shares each in Nisa Retail, which they can use to vote on issues such as board appointments at its AGM.
Nisa Retail is also working on a £120m refinancing deal in order to help bolster expansion plans.