Sainsbury's reportedly in advanced talks to sell its banking arm

According to Sky News, the grocer is nearing an agreement to sell Sainsbury's Bank to Centerbridge Partners, a US-based private equity firm.

The discussions are said to be within weeks of a potential agreement although they could still fall apart, a person close to Sainsbury's told Sky News.

One analyst suggested that the purchase price was likely to be in the region of £200m.

A Sainsbury's spokesman said: "We do not comment on speculation. We remain focused on delivering against the strategy we set out at our Capital Markets Day in September 2019."

In July, bosses at Sainsbury's revealed that sales had been better than expected in the last three months.

In the 16 weeks to June 26, sales were up 1.6% compared with the same period a year ago – which was at the height of the first wave and when shelves were stripped bare with panic-buying.

Online sales remained strong, with 18% of all food now sold through Sainsbury’s website compared with 8% pre-pandemic.