Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Supermarket giant Tesco to explore sale of banking arm

Supermarket giant Tesco to explore sale of banking arm

The UK's biggest retailer is to kick off a review of its presence in the financial services sector that could trigger a formal sale process.
Tesco, Britain's biggest supermarket chain, is to kick off a review of its presence in the UK banking sector - a move that could lead to a sale of the business.

Sky News has learnt that the grocery giant is lining up Goldman Sachs to advise on the future of Tesco Bank, which launched in 1997.

City insiders said this weekend that the review was at a very preliminary stage and may not lead to a formal sale process.

One source suggested that a partial sale or joint venture could also be an option for the retailer.

A banking analyst suggested this weekend that if it was sold, Tesco Bank could be worth more than £1bn based on its book value.

The company has more than five million customers, offering products including pet insurance, savings accounts and credit cards.

Ken Murphy, who has been Tesco's chief executive since 2020, has been publicly supportive of its presence in the banking sector.

Based in Edinburgh, Tesco Bank employs 3,800 people and generated adjusted operating profits of £67m in its last half-year results.

There is no suggestion that the review of the business could result in any form of wind-down or job losses.

"The bank's balance sheet remains strong, and we continue to have sufficient capital and liquidity to absorb changes in both regulatory and funding requirements," it said in its most recent results announcement.

Tesco Bank retreated from the UK mortgage market in 2019, announcing the sale of its existing mortgage book to Lloyds Banking Group for a cash consideration of £3.8bn.

Last month, it named Jacqui Ferguson, a former Hewlett Packard Enterprise Services executive, as its interim chair.

Her appointment follows the departure of Sir John Kingman, the former Treasury mandarin who had chaired the bank since 2019.

Sir John resigned to join Barclays as chair of its UK ring-fenced bank.

Tesco's potential exit from the banking business comes 15 years after it paid £950m to acquire the then crisis-hit Royal Bank of Scotland's 50% stake in their Tesco Personal Finance joint venture.

More recently, rival J Sainsbury has also explored the disposal of its banking arm but decided in 2021 to terminate discussions with suitors.

The list of potential buyers of Tesco Bank would be expected to include other mid-sized UK lenders as well as financial investors.

Tesco has recovered strongly from the biggest crisis in its history, which emerged in 2014 when the company overstated income, triggering a Serious Fraud Office probe and protracted shareholder litigation.

Mr Murphy, who replaced Sir Dave Lewis at the helm of Tesco, has sought to exert tight control of its cost-base amid growing inflationary pressures.

Last month, he snapped up the Paperchase stationery retail brand and announced a shake-up of store management roles which put more than 2,000 jobs at risk.

Tesco and Goldman Sachs both declined to comment.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×