Sainsbury’s is selling Argos, ten years after buying it for £1.4 billion, to a company named Swift Partners, newly set up by a group of retail veterans.
The deal values Argos at just £120 million, a fraction of what Sainsbury’s originally paid.
So what does this actually mean if you shop at Argos?
Every part of the business is being sold together, including the 201 standalone Argos shops, the 466 counters inside Sainsbury’s stores and more than 450 collection points across the country.
The Habitat brand goes with it too. All 1,400 staff working across Argos will move over to Swift Partners as part of the deal, so there’s no immediate job losses tied to the sale itself.
Swift Partners is led by Richard Pennycook, the former boss of the Co-operative Group, along with Trevor Strain, who used to run operations at Morrisons. The firm is backed financially by Matt Truman’s investment group, True Capital.
The deal still needs to close, which Sainsbury’s expects to happen in February next year. Sainsbury’s will get £70 million upfront, with the rest to follow.
A full split between the two companies isn’t expected until 2029, so Argos will keep running inside Sainsbury’s stores for years to come under the current setup, including the Nectar loyalty scheme.
Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts said the move lets the supermarket focus fully on food and groceries, its main business.
Argos sales have struggled for years despite repeated attempts to turn the brand around and Sainsbury’s had also explored selling it to China’s JD.com last year before those talks fell apart.
The retail union, Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) said the announcement will bring uncertainty for staff and it plans to support affected workers through the process.
2026-07-31 22:07:00
