Supermarket group Morrisons saw its shares slide 2.3% after Edinburgh-based fund manager Walter Scott, which owned 4% of the group, offloaded its 100m shares.

UBS confirmed it had placed the shares at 280p, just below last night's closing price of 283p.

Scott, the business owned in the US but still run by its founder in Charlotte Square, is the second big shareholder to ditch its holdings this year after fund manager BlackRock sold down its 10% stake.

The latest placing follows last week's announcement of a tie-up with online grocer Ocado. Clive Black at Shore Capital commented: "We see this as a potential waste of capital that does not yet credibly lead to a profitable online business."