13th Jul 2023 13:30
(Alliance News) - Barclays PLC is preparing the sale of its consumer-finance business in Germany and has held preliminary talks with potential buyers, according to a Bloomberg report on Thursday.
The London-based bank is reportedly seeking around EUR500 million for the unit formerly known as Barclaycard Germany, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg, with these discussions yet to be made public formally.
Discussions are ongoing and Barclays may opt not to proceed with any deal, Bloomberg reported. A Barclays representative declined to comment to Bloomberg.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-13/barclays-said-to-ready-sale-of-german-consumer-finance-business?leadSource=uverify%20wall
The Hamburg-based asset, which Barclays is reportedly looking to sell, employs 700 staff members. It has around two million clients with loan book or assets of around GBP4.3 billion at the end of last year, according to finances.
Any purchase price would depend on the profitability of the business, which has not been disclosed, according to Bloomberg sources, although they noted the Hamburg-based asset to be profitable.
Bloomberg reported that the potential disposal adds fuel to the fire that Barclays Chief Executive Officer CS Venkatakrishnan is stepping up efforts to review the bank's footprint across business lines and geographies.
This could lead to further exits, Bloomberg said, noting Barclays recently initiating the sale of an Italian loans portfolio, alongside separately working with Boston Consulting Group Inc to evaluate its strategy.
Shares in Barclays were marginally down to 154.76 pence each in London on Thursday afternoon.
By Greg Rosenvinge, Alliance News reporter
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