ARGOS SOLD: The eight south west Wales stores caught up in the £120m deal

Argos has been sold, and eight branches across south west Wales go with it.

Sainsbury’s confirmed on Friday it has agreed to sell the chain to Swift Partners, a company set up specifically to buy it by three retail veterans backed by investment firm True Capital.

The price is at least £120m. Sainsbury’s paid £1.4bn for Argos in 2016.

For anyone with a click-and-collect order waiting, the short answer is that nothing changes yet. The deal is not due to complete until February 2027.

Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts moved to reassure staff and shoppers as the sale was announced. “I would like to thank Argos colleagues for all of their commitment and hard work,” he said.

“Today is an important next step in building the strongest future for Argos and I would like to reassure our colleagues, customers and suppliers that it’s business as usual.”

The eight local branches in the deal

Six standalone Argos stores in south west Wales are part of the sale:

• Merlin’s Walk, Carmarthen
• Quay Street, Ammanford
• Parc Pemberton, Llanelli
• Pontardawe Retail Park, Neath Port Talbot
• Riverside Quay, Haverfordwest
• London Road, Pembroke Dock

Two more operate as counters inside Sainsbury’s supermarkets, at Quay Parade in Swansea and Upper Park Road in Tenby.

Swansea’s prominent stand-alone Argos store on High Street in the city centre closed in 2020, their unit at West Swansea Retail Park in Fforestfach closed in 2021, and their unit at Morfa Retail Park closing in 2023 as part of a corporate shift to relocate services directly into nearby Sainsbury’s supermarkets.

The Argos store at the St Elli Shopping Centre in Llanelli permanently closed in March 2021 after remaining shut following the December 2020 lockdown.

Those in-store counters are covered by a long-term agreement, with Sainsbury’s staying on as landlord and collecting rent from the new owner.

Nationally the deal covers 201 standalone stores, 466 counters inside Sainsbury’s and more than 450 collection points.

Who is buying it

Swift Partners is led by Richard Pennycook, the former Co-operative Group chief executive, alongside former Morrisons chief operating officer Trevor Strain and True Capital co-founder Matt Truman. Mr Pennycook will be executive chair and spend three days a week on the business.

He said the attraction was the state of the business itself. “What attracted us to Argos is the strength of the business, with a trusted brand, loyal customers and dedicated colleagues,” he said.

“We believe strongly in Argos’s future and see real opportunities to invest and build on its progress.”

Mr Pennycook said the mix of shops, counters and fulfilment centres was the platform he wanted to build on. “Argos’s combination, of a strong digital business supported by standalone stores, stores inside Sainsbury’s and Local Fulfilment Centres, gives it a distinctive position in the market and an excellent platform for growth,” he said.

He added that he, Mr Strain and Mr Truman were all making a long-term commitment to the business, and intended to maintain what he called Argos’s strong values.

Mr Roberts said the supermarket had weighed up carefully what Argos needed. “As we have strengthened our core food business, we have carefully considered what it will take to create the strongest possible future for Argos,” he said.

For Sainsbury’s, he said, the sale allowed it to focus all its resources and investment on its food business.

What Sainsbury’s has not said

Sainsbury’s has not said how many staff work at the eight local branches, or what the change of ownership means for them. Neither the company nor Swift has announced any store closures as part of the deal.

Retail union Usdaw said the announcement “will create uncertainty for those affected”, and that it would provide support, advice and representation throughout the process. The union welcomed Swift’s commitment to keeping standalone stores, in-store counters and fulfilment centres.

The wider picture is a decade of retreat on the high street, in an area that has already watched four Whitbread restaurants face closure and Llanelli’s market and multi-storey car park lined up for demolition.

Sainsbury’s has closed many standalone Argos branches since 2016, pushing the business online, and around 80% of sales now start on the website. Argos sales fell 1% in the quarter to early January.

Sainsbury’s had held talks to sell Argos to Chinese e-commerce group JD.com last September, but those discussions collapsed within days.

The timetable

Completion is expected in February 2027, subject to regulatory approval. Full separation of the two businesses is expected to take until 2029.

Sainsbury’s keeps responsibility for the Argos pension scheme and will carry on selling Habitat products. Argos Care and Argos Pet Insurance transfer to the new owner, along with a distribution centre in Daventry and sourcing offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

The local branches, for now, open as normal.