Sainsbury’s agrees £120m sale of Argos to Swift Partners after putting retailer on the market

SAINSBURY’S has agreed to sell Argos to Swift Partners as part of a £120million deal. For now, Argos will continue to trade as normal from its standalone stores and locations in Sainsbury’s outlets. Sainsbury’s has agreed to sell Argos to Swift Partners as part of a £120million deal Credit: Reuters For now, Argos will continue to trade as normal from its standalone stores and locations in Sainsbury’s outlets Credit: PA Customers will also still be able to use their Nectar cards in Argos stores. Swift Partners is a new company formed by retail veterans Richard Pennycook, Trevor Strain and Matt Truman. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! Sainsbury’s has been focusing more on its food business since chief executive Simon Roberts took over in 2020. The supermarket chain said the deal was a “further step forward in our strategy” and would allow it to “focus all our resources and investment on the significant opportunities ahead”. It also said it would create “the strongest possible future for Argos”. The deal means Swift has acquired all Argos standalone stores and those inside Sainsbury’s supermarkets, plus Argos Care and Argos Pet Insurance. The deal is expected to be completed by February 2027, with the businesses fully separating by February 2029. Mr Roberts said: “Today is an important next step in building the strongest future for Argos and I would like to reassure our colleagues, customers and suppliers that it’s business as usual.” Sainsbury’s bought Argos from Home Retail Group in 2016 for £1.1billion. Most read in Money It was in talks to sell off the retailer to JD Sports last year but the deal fell through. APPLE SHARES TUMBLE APPLE shares fell by nine per cent yesterday after the tech giant warned it faced chip supply problems. The firm’s revenue and iPhone sales were both better than forecast in its earnings report this week. But it said it expected a “significant hit” from the growing supply constraints, which included a shortage of key chip components for its Mac computers, iPhones and iPads. JAG JOB CUT JAGUAR LAND ROVER is planning to cut hundreds of jobs, less than a year after a devastating cyber attack. The car maker said the impacted employees would be supported to find alternative roles where possible, or they could take “voluntary early exit”. It said it expected fewer than 300 of its 30,000 employees to leave the firm. The cyber attack cost JLR around£1.9billion and in June it said it planned to cut £1.7billion in costs. It’s thought the job losses will affect management roles rather than production line staff. HIRING WOE THE boss of Screwfix has warned red tape is stopping young workers being hired through apprenticeships. CEO John Mewett said many firms are being put off as it is “too complicated, from the paperwork, the hiring, to managing apprentice workload”. Almost one million young people are not in work, education, or training. Employers can get up to £8,000 in apprenticeship scheme support, but Mr Mewett said many are not claiming it as they are too complex to set up. Comment now