Sainsbury’s sells Argos cards portfolio to NewDay Group

Sainsbury has announced the sale of the Argos Financial Services (AFS) cards portfolio to NewDay Group. 

The AFS cards support around 20% of Argos sales and are held by around two million Argos customers who use Argos credit to manage the cost of their purchases.

The purchase price for the portfolio acquisition is expected to be around £720m, broadly in line with the expected net value of loan balances and associated provisions at the end of Q1 2025.

Sainsbury’s has also announced the creation of a partnership with NewDay to create a new Argos-branded digital credit proposition. This will, in time, replace the current Argos card credit propositions with a wider choice of “modern, flexible and more convenient” ways for customers to manage the cost of purchases.

This announcement follows the one released on 20 June regarding the sale of Sainsbury’s Bank‘s personal loan, credit card and retail deposit portfolios to NatWest Group and the 25 September announcement of the sale of Sainsbury’s Bank’s ATM business to NoteMachine. 

Simon Roberts, Sainsbury’s CEO said: “As we make progress with the plan for Next Level Sainsbury’s, this is a key milestone in building our future model for Financial Services. It’s really important we work with partners who share our values and customer focus. 

“NewDay is a complementary fit for us as we strive to give customers at Argos the best value and choice and make it as easy as possible for them to buy the products they need.”

John Hourican, NewDay’s CEO, added: “We look forward to welcoming AFS’ two million customers to NewDay, where they will benefit from our increased digital offering and award-winning customer service, and we are fully focused on ensuring a smooth transition for these customers. 

“This is a great opportunity to forge a partnership with one of the UK’s leading retailers as well as accelerate the growth of our Credit business, in line with our strategic objectives.”