The British chain plans to open a series of new stores in the Greater Phoenix area, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Diego over the next two years.

In a thinly veiled statement to the Sunday Tribune, Greencore group declined to comment on Tesco matters.

However, they did say they believed the US represents great potential for the fresh food sector and that they are looking at ways to enter the market.

A spokesperson for the company said, "We do believe that there is a significant opportunity in the US with regard to fresh convenient food offerings."

They went on to say that they are "currently searching for any available opportunities that exist in that regard".

It had been previously suggested that this was an ideal business opportunity for the Greencore group.

Greencore is a former winner of the Tesco Food Supplier of the Year awards.