John Lewis has emerged as a surprise beneficiary of the ambitious Ocado IPO earlier this year, after the sale of half its stake in the online retailer helped to cut its pension deficit by almost 40%.

The retail giant handed its pension scheme a percentage of Ocado in lieu of a cash contribution in 2008. When Ocado listed on the London Stock Exchange in July, the John Lewis Pension Fund sold half of this holding and pocketed £100m.