Sainsbury’s to sell Argos to three retail veterans in £120m deal
Sainsbury’s has agreed to sell the Argos catalogue retail chain to Swift Partners for £120 million. The sale is intended to let Sainsbury’s concentrate on its core food business while Argos will continue operating under existing commercial agreements. The transaction is expected to close in early 2027 with full separation by early 2029.
- ▪Sainsbury’s will sell Argos to Swift Partners, a company set up by former Co‑operative Group and Morrisons executives Richard Pennycook, Trevor Strain and Matt Truman.
- ▪The £120 million deal follows Sainsbury’s earlier attempts to offload Argos, including a collapsed sale to a Chinese buyer.
- ▪Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts said the sale supports a ‘food‑first’ strategy and allows the supermarket to focus resources on growth opportunities.
- ▪The deal is slated for completion in early 2027, with Argos and Sainsbury’s expected to become fully separate entities by early 2029.
- ▪Sainsbury’s shares rose by more than 3 % after the announcement.
2 outlets in our directory ran this story, first to last over 3 hours. All of the coverage we found sits in one bucket: centre. That one-sidedness is itself worth noticing.
- ▪ Sainsbury's to sell Argos for £120m — BBC News — Business
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| Original publisher | The Guardian — UK |
| Canonical URL | https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jul/31/sainsburys-to-sell-argos-to-three-retail-veterans |
| Publication time | Fri, 31 Jul 2026 09:47:02 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-07-31T09:57:40.518Z |
| Last seen | 2026-07-31T09:57:40.518Z |
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| Cluster | JqWD4whqNTD6 · 2 stories |
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Sainsbury’s bought Argos in 2016 as part of the Home Retail Group in a £1.3bn deal. Photograph: David Kilpatrick/AlamyView image in fullscreenSainsbury’s bought Argos in 2016 as part of the Home Retail Group in a £1.3bn deal. Photograph: David Kilpatrick/AlamyRetail industrySainsbury’s to sell Argos to three retail veterans in £120m dealTrio set up Swift Partners for the acquisition, allowing supermarket to focus on core food businessJoanna Partridge and Sarah ButlerFri 31 Jul 2026 05.47 EDTLast modified on Fri 31 Jul 2026 05.49 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleSainsbury’s has agreed to sell the Argos retail chain for £120m to allow it to concentrate on its core food business.The supermarket announced on Friday it was selling the catalogue shopping business to a trio of retail…
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