Barclays today announced that Barclays Bank UK PLC has entered into an agreement to acquire the retail banking business of Tesco and enter into an exclusive long-term partnership to offer Tesco branded credit cards, personal loans and deposits.
Tesco’s retail banking customer base is broadly similar to Barclays UK’s existing customers and will complement Barclays’ current business, as well as build on its existing UK strategic partnerships with other leading retail, consumer electronics and loyalty programme brands.
The acquisition and partnership are subject to regulatory approval and expected to complete in the second half of 2024. Once completed, Barclays will welcome approximately 2,800 Tesco colleagues to Barclays.
C.S. Venkatakrishnan, Group Chief Executive of Barclays, commented:
“This strategic relationship with the UK’s largest retailer will help create new distribution channels for our unsecured lending and deposit businesses. We are able to bring our expertise in partnership cards developed over decades in the US to enhance further the highly successful Tesco Clubcard loyalty scheme.
“This partnership with Tesco is a further demonstration of the investment we continue to make in our UK consumer business. We are looking forward to working closely with the team at Tesco over the coming months to enable a smooth transition and, subject to completion of the transaction, we look forward to welcoming Tesco Bank colleagues and customers to Barclays.”
