Sainsbury’s revives efforts to sell £650m mortgage book - report

Sainsbury's has reportedly revived its efforts to sell a £650m mortgage book months after calling off talks with the Co-operative Bank about a deal.

According to Sky News, the supermarket chain is working with advisers on a sale of the assets, which it decided some time ago were not core to the future of its banking arm.

Sources told Sky that potential buyers had been contacted again in recent weeks about the portfolio.

In March, Sky revealed that Sainsbury's and the Co-operative Bank had terminated discussions after failing to agree on a price. A number of other parties, including Starling Bank, had also submitted offers during that process.

The original auction was run by advisers at Deloitte, although it was unclear whether the accountancy firm was working on the latest process.

If completed, a sale would herald Sainsbury's Bank's formal exit from the UK mortgage market after it ceased new lending in 2019. It continues to offer a range of other financial services.

Sky News reported earlier this year that Tesco had been examining a disposal of its own broader banking operation.