Will Sainsbury’s bail out its own bank?

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Will Sainsbury’s bail out its own bank? Analysts warn bank is likely to lose money

  • Sainsbury’s could be forced to ‘inject capital’ into Sainsbury’s Bank 
  • But supermarket is set to announce strong sales figures for the past two months 

By Ben Harrington For The Mail On Sunday

Published: | Updated:

Sainsbury’s may have to bail out its own bank, analysts have said.

Experts at Barclays have speculated that the supermarket chain could be forced to ‘inject capital’ into Sainsbury’s Bank.

In a note to clients last week, James Anstead, an analyst at Barclays, said: ‘Tesco believes it is likely that its bank will lose money in 2020-21, and it seems reasonable to think Sainsbury’s Bank will be similarly affected.’

Sainsbury’s may have to bail out its own bank, analysts have said

Anstead also said that Sainsbury’s, which is scheduled to unveil its full-year results this week, will see turnover fall at its Argos stores due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

‘Argos will clearly face major challenges with stores being closed and weaker consumer sentiment,’ he said.

But the supermarket is expected to announce strong sales figures for the past couple of months amid a bout of stockpiling by shoppers at the start of the crisis.

The annual results will be the last for Mike Coupe, the company’s chief executive for the past six years. In 2018, Coupe attempted to lead a £12billion merger with Sainsbury’s rival Asda, which is owned by America’s Walmart.

However, the deal was blocked by the Competition and Markets Authority.

Coupe is being succeeded by Simon Roberts, a former managing director of the health and beauty retailer Boots.

 

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