British supermarket Sainsbury's said on Thursday it had sold its Argos Financial Services cards portfolio to NewDay Group for an expected £720 million.
The move was in line with the company’s strategy to focus on its core retail business.
Britain’s second-largest supermarket group – after Tesco – said it had also formed a partnership with financial services firm NewDay to create a new Argos-branded digital credit offer for the general merchandise business.
Sainsbury’s announced a phased withdrawal from its core banking business in January.
It subsequently struck a deal in June to sell most of its banking operation to NatWest.
Last month, Sainsbury’s also sold its cash machine operation to NoteMachine.
It expects the combination of commission income from insurance, travel money and ATMs alongside income from the NewDay partnership to deliver sustainable annual income of at least £40 million in the financial year to March 2028.
The retailer also expects Sainsbury’s Bank to return to its excess capital of at least £250 million, which it plans to return to shareholders.
Shares in Sainsbury’s were down 0.8% in early trading on Thursday, extending 2024 losses to over 13%.
The group is due to publish first-half results on 7 November.
