When John Lovering agreed the £1.57bn sale of Somerfield on Wednesday, the supermarket group’s chairman must have worried that parallels could be drawn with Debenhams, the other big UK retailer he chairs.

Few investors in the City have forgiven Mr Lovering or his private equity backers for the sharp drop in Debenhams’ shares since it floated two years ago, amid accusations that the department store was starved of investment and stripped of value.