Sainsbury’s is to open a further five smaller-format stores by the end of March as part of its push into the convenience sector.

The first is to launch in Worksop, Nottinghamshire on Thursday.

A store in Leeds’ Headrow Centre will open on January 30 and its Dorchester store will open in March. It is still in talks over the other two stores and would not comment on specific locations.

A spokeswoman said: “We see significant potential for the business in the UK convenience market and have ambitious plans to accelerate the growth of our convenience operation.” 50 stores are set to open in 2009/10 and 100 more in the next financial year.