Sainsbury's reportedly in advanced talks to sell its banking arm
Sainsbury's, Britain's second-biggest supermarket chain, is reportedly in advanced talks to sell its banking arm.
According to Sky News, the grocer is nearing an agreement to sell Sainsbury's Bank to Centerbridge Partners, a US-based private equity firm.
The discussions are said to be within weeks of a potential agreement although they could still fall apart, a person close to Sainsbury's told Sky News.
One analyst suggested that the purchase price was likely to be in the region of £200m.
A Sainsbury's spokesman said: "We do not comment on speculation. We remain focused on delivering against the strategy we set out at our Capital Markets Day in September 2019."
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In July, bosses at Sainsbury's revealed that sales had been better than expected in the last three months.
In the 16 weeks to June 26, sales were up 1.6% compared with the same period a year ago – which was at the height of the first wave and when shelves were stripped bare with panic-buying.
Online sales remained strong, with 18% of all food now sold through Sainsbury’s website compared with 8% pre-pandemic.