J Sainsbury plc has disclosed the purchase of 1,985,000 of its own ordinary shares across five trading sessions between 30 October and 5 November 2026, executed through Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited. The transactions form part of the supermarket group's existing share buyback programme, the instructions for which were issued to the broker on 22 October 2026 and publicly announced on 23 October 2026. The company has confirmed its intention to cancel all shares acquired, reducing the total number of ordinary shares in circulation. Investors in the FTSE-listed grocer may note the steady pace of daily purchases and the upward drift in prices paid across the five-day window.

Key Points

  • Sainsbury(J) PLC (SBRY) — one of the UK's largest supermarket operators
  • 1,985,000 ordinary shares purchased across five sessions from 30 October to 5 November 2026 via Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited
  • Volume weighted average prices ranged from 343.2015p on 30 October to 360.1154p on 5 November 2026; all acquired shares are to be cancelled
  • Investors should watch for further buyback tranches under the programme announced on 23 October 2026

Daily Breakdown of Sainsbury's Share Purchases and Prices Paid

The company purchased 435,000 shares on 30 October 2026 at a volume weighted average price (VWAP) of 343.2015p, with the session range spanning 340.60p to 344.80p. On 2 November, 390,000 shares were acquired at a VWAP of 351.1065p. The following two sessions saw 395,000 and 385,000 shares purchased at VWAPs of 346.6838p and 352.2985p respectively. The final session on 5 November 2026 recorded 380,000 shares bought at a VWAP of 360.1154p, with the highest price paid across the entire period reaching 362.70p on that day.

Shore Capital Executes Transactions Under 23 October 2026 Buyback Instructions

All five tranches were executed by Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited acting on instructions formally issued by Sainsbury's on 22 October 2026, as the company publicly disclosed the following day. The buyback is conducted in compliance with Article 5(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, which forms part of retained EU law under the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018. A full schedule of individual trades in both aggregated and detailed form has been made available through the London Stock Exchange's regulatory news service, in line with market abuse regulation transparency requirements.

Sainsbury's Plans to Cancel All Repurchased Shares, Reducing Share Count

The announcement confirms that J Sainsbury intends to cancel all 1,985,000 shares acquired during this reporting period rather than hold them in treasury. Cancellation directly reduces the company's total issued share capital, which can have the mechanical effect of increasing earnings per share over time, all else being equal. This approach reflects a capital return strategy that the board has committed to through the structured buyback programme, the full scope and total value of which the company did not disclose in this announcement.