SPORTS Direct and Tesco are in advanced talks over a space-sharing plan at some of the grocer’s biggest stores, it is claimed.

The sports chain – controlled by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley – could take the mezzanine floors in three of Tesco’s UK hypermarkets and is looking at other opportunities, according to newspaper reports.

The move would allow Sports Direct to benefit from customer traffic to Tesco while enabling the supermarket to shed space to a non-competing retailer.

Tesco has already bought restaurant chain Giraffe and coffee business Harris + Hoole with a view to installing them in larger stores while in the Czech Republic Sports Direct has taken space in a massive hypermarket.