Pimco and KKR amongst suitors for £1.7bn John Lewis card supplier NewDay

John Lewis’s bank card accomplice has acquired expressions of curiosity in a takeover of elements or all of its enterprise from a few of the world’s largest monetary traders.

Sky Information has learnt that NewDay Group, which is owned by the non-public fairness companies Cinven and CVC Capital Companions, is fielding curiosity from suitors together with Pimco, the asset administration big, KKR, and a Bain Capital-led consortium which additionally consists of Centerbridge Companions.

Banking sources stated the events had been amongst various teams which had been anticipated to desk formal bids for NewDay within the coming weeks.

A few of the bidders, akin to Pimco, are stated to be enthusiastic about pursuing a deal to purchase NewDay’s shopper mortgage e book relatively than the corporate as an entire; others, in the meantime, are understood to be enthusiastic about buying the entire enterprise.

Final November, Sky Information reported that NewDay’s house owners had been lining up funding bankers at Barclays to advise on a course of.

NewDay is considered one of Britain’s greatest privately held suppliers of shopper credit score companies, with about 4 million clients.

The corporate is chaired by Sir Mike Rake, the previous deputy chairman of Barclays, and run by John Hourican, the previous Royal Financial institution of Scotland and Financial institution of Cyprus govt.

Its regulated product portfolio consists of direct-to-consumer bank cards, together with Bip, the UK’s first digital-only bank card.

The corporate additionally has a string of service provider partnerships providing digital point-of-sale credit score, akin to Purchase Now Pay Later and instalment finance merchandise.

As a part of the Argos deal, NewDay struck an settlement to create a brand new Argos-branded digital credit score proposition, which is able to substitute the prevailing card credit score and retailer card merchandise.

Final August, it stated it had seen new buyer acquisition rise by 36% in the course of the first half of the present monetary 12 months, with buyer arrears now standing at pre-Covid ranges.

If NewDay decides to drift as a substitute of pursuing a sale, various different banks are anticipated to be employed alongside Barclays, whose appointment is claimed to be imminent.

Not one of the events contacted by Sky Information on Thursday afternoon would remark.