Sainsbury’s will post its second-quarter results on Wednesday, providing another key reading of the UK retail barometer ahead of the critical Christmas trading period.

Analysts expect it to report like-for-likes sales in the region of 3.5 per cent for the 16 weeks to October 7, a similar rate of sales growth to that posted by Tesco this week. Morrisons delivered like-for-likes of 2.7 per cent for the 25 weeks to July 29, although the figures improved to 3 per cent growth in the subsequent 7-week period.

Shore Capital analyst Clive Black expects a “gentle easing” in Sainsbury’s comparable store sales growth over the next few months.

However, it is next year when it will become clearer if Sainsbury’s can maintain the strong momentum that chief executive Justin King has delivered over the past three years.

In 2008, Sainsbury’s will probably no longer listed on the stock exchange, as the Qatari investment fund Delta Two seems set to take the supermarket private before the end of the year, with a potential 600p-a-share bid.

Initially, customers are likely to see little change in the aisles of a Delta Two-owned Sainsbury’s. But, in the second half of next year, a truer indication of Sainsbury’s flexibility to compete on price with Asda, Morrisons and Tesco, as well as Waitrose, will start to emerge.

In a research note, Citigroup analyst Dave McCarthy said a change in ownership would “inevitably bring some short-term disruption” and that Sainsbury’s could be a “more benign competitor” in private hands. Last week, Delta Two initiated talks with Sainsbury’s pension trustees, who are seen a key barrier to a potential successful bid.

The credit crunch has also reduced the chances of Delta Two – if its bid is successful – being able to release value to shareholders through property deals, such as joint ventures, according to Deutsche Bank. Deutsche Bank has revised its share price target for Sainsbury’s from 650p to 600p, citing the effect of the credit crunch on Sainsbury’s options for its lucrative property portfolio.

A successful bid from Delta Two is likely to bring some changing of the guard among Sainsbury’s board members. It is not clear how many of the supermarket’s operating board will remain, but it would be unusual if no one headed for the exit and a well-earned rest on the beach after cashing in their lucrative long-term incentive plans early. Delta Two has always stressed that it is keen to retain Justin King as chief executive.

Ahead of its results next week, Sainsbury’s is a supermarket chain in good shape having won over the City over the past three years. The decision unveiled this week to move from its palatial, glass-fronted Holborn office in central London to new premises in King’s Cross in 2011 is further evidence of its commitment to sharpening its bottom line.

But the proof in the Delta Two pudding will start to become clearer in the second half of next year.