Cambridge Science Park owner Trinity College has made another sensational foray into big city property deals with a mega-million pound swoop to buy 50 per cent of a Tesco plc stores portfolio.

Tesco refused to name the buyer and no-one from Trinity was available to comment at the time of going to press. The Telegraph reports that Trinity is the buyer.

The college raised eyebrows in October 2009 when it paid £24m for the 999-year lease of London's O2 Arena. After entering the world of entertainment for the first time it has now made its first raid on the supermarket sector.

Cambridge’s richest college also owns the land at the Port of Felixstowe and a major site around the Channel Tunnel in Kent.

Trinity arrives on the scene like a white knight. Tesco plc had £5 billion wiped off the share value of the company amid global market turbulence last month.

Will Mooney, a partner of Carter Jonas in Cambridge told Business Weekly: “Tesco has been the sixth largest property seller since 2007 and is also a significant tenant and contributor of rent to some of the country’s biggest commercial property companies.”

Its share price is currently squatting in the middle of its 52-week range at 320.53p and the group’s market cap has been shaved to just under £26bn.

The Telegraph reports that the college has acquired 11 stores alongside a Tesco subsidiary in a deal financed through the issuing of a £450m commercial mortgage backed security. The portfolio includes stores in London, Bradford and Doncaster, plus a development site in Woolwich.

Trinity explained at the time of the 02 deal that it uses endowment funds to invest in property and provide extra income for education and research.

The college remains one of Britain’s largest landowners. It was once said anecdotally that in olden times you could ride from York to Kent without leaving Trinity land.