Lord (David) Sainsbury of Turville and his cousin Lord (John) Sainsbury of Preston Candover no doubt had much to discuss as they boarded Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al Thani’s private plane to Sardinia last Tuesday.

The pair have often differed over the family business, not to mention politics, but both were keen to know what the Qatari prince had in mind for the supermarket chain.

It is not clear who initiated the meeting with Sheikh Hamad, whose fund now owns 25 per cent of J Sainsbury. One source said: “Both sides were interested in meeting, but for different reasons.”

The family now controls 18 per cent of Sainsbury’s, less than Sheikh Hamad’s Delta Two fund.

However, both men have spent time running Sainsbury’s and have a close attachment to the business. Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover still occasionally tours stores with Justin King, the chief executive.

The two peers were not accompanied by advisers – it was to be a private meeting between major shareholders in one of Britain’s biggest retailers. They met for lunch at the Sheikh’s holiday villa on the Italian island and it was made clear that Delta Two, the Qatari-backed investment fund, was considering a possible takeover bid for J Sainsbury.

The two Sainsburys are understood to have said that the management had a good approach to the business and expressed their concerns about the impact of excessive borrowing or the sale of freehold property assets on successful operation of the supermarket chain.

The cordial meeting was very different from both men’s reaction to CVC, the private equity firm that attempted to buy Sainsbury’s earlier this year. Then, they refused even to meet the buyout group’s team at their advisers’ offices in London. One source said: “Perhaps they think the game is up.”

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