Sainsbury’s has agreed a deal to sell Argos for up to £120m, 10 months after it thought it was close to selling one of the country’s largest furniture retailers to Chinese retail giant JD.com.
Former Co-op boss Richard Pennycook, former Morrisons finance chief Trevor Strain and True Capital co-founder Matt Truman have formed Swift Partners for the acquisition, which includes Argos’ standalone stores, branches inside Sainsbury’s supermarkets, sales channels, brands and logistics network, as well as Argos Care and Argos Pet Insurance.
Argos will continue trading through its existing standalone stores, supermarket concessions, collection points and online delivery operations.
The transaction is expected to complete in February 2027, with the full separation of Argos and Sainsbury’s anticipated by February 2029.
The deal also sees Swift buy Sainsbury’s Argos distribution centre in Daventry and its sourcing offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Sainsbury’s says it expects to receive at least £70m when the transaction completes. It anticipates Swift paying a further £50m over the following three years. It will keep responsibility for the Argos defined benefit pension scheme.
The two parties have agreed long-term commercial partnerships covering Argos concessions and collection points inside supermarkets, alongside Nectar, Nectar360 and Habitat.
Sainsbury’s acquired Argos owner Home Retail Group in 2016 as part of a £1.3bn deal as it looked to establish a full-line retail offer.
