Key facts
- Sainsbury's sold its catalogue retailer Argos to private equity firm Swift for £120 million.
- The sale of Argos is part of Sainsbury's strategy to focus on its core food business.
- Sainsbury's acquired Argos and Habitat in 2016 for £1.4 billion.
- The number of standalone Argos stores has fallen from 845 to 201.
- Sainsbury's has divested its financial services, ATMs, travel money, and insurance businesses.
- The Qatar Investment Authority, previously Sainsbury's largest shareholder, sold its stake.
Sainsbury's has completed a significant phase of its strategic pivot back to its core food business with the sale of its catalogue retailer Argos for £120 million to private equity firm Swift. This move underscores a years-long effort by the UK supermarket giant to shed non-core assets and streamline its operations.
Once a sprawling conglomerate with a diverse business empire, Sainsbury's has systematically divested various ventures. The acquisition of Home Retail Group, which included Argos and Habitat, for £1.4 billion a decade ago, represented an earlier strategy of diversification. However, the retail landscape has shifted, leading to a significant reduction in standalone Argos stores from 845 at the time of acquisition to just 201 by the sale date, with an additional 466 operating within larger Sainsbury's stores. All 34 Argos stores in the Republic of Ireland were closed in 2023.
This retreat extends to other areas of the business. Sainsbury's financial arm has been dismantled, with its personal loan, credit card, and retail deposit business sold to NatWest for £125 million in 2024, and Argos Financial Services' credit cards acquired by NewDay Group. Further disposals included ATMs to NoteMachine, travel money services to Fexco, and car and home insurance to Allianz UK. The Qatar Investment Authority, which had been Sainsbury's largest shareholder for nearly two decades, also sold its stake in December 2025.
Analysts view these moves as a return to fundamentals. Investment director at AJ Bell, Russ Mould, noted that UK supermarkets often cycle between diversification and focusing on core activities. Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, described Argos as a "relic of the previous plan" for Sainsbury's. Habitat, a furniture and home accessories brand also acquired in 2016, has similarly seen its standalone presence reduced to in-store branches and online sales.
The restructuring has also involved substantial job cuts, with nearly 10,000 roles impacted across successive rounds, including closures of standalone Argos stores, meat, fish, and deli counters, warehouses, bakeries, call centres, and in-store cafés. Despite these divestments, Sainsbury's core supermarket and convenience store estate has seen a slight increase, with 609 supermarkets and 885 convenience stores currently operating.