Tesco Bank

Tesco Bank is a retail bank in the United Kingdom which was formed in 1997, and which has been wholly owned by Tesco plc since 2008. The bank was originally formed as part of a 50:50 joint venture between The Royal Bank of Scotland and Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket. Tesco later acquired the RBS shareholding, which resulted in the bank becoming a wholly owned subsidiary, and now operates under its own banking licence under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

The bank offers a range of insurance, credit cards, loans, savings, mortgages and travel products, and launched a current account in June 2014. A unique selling point of Tesco's banking products is that the bank is able to leverage its large customer base to cross-sell financial services products, as customers can accumulate Tesco Clubcard points when they purchase finance products.

As of February 2014, the bank has around 7 million customer accounts and policies.

History

Prior to the formation of Tesco Personal Finance plc, as it was originally known, Tesco had a banking joint venture with NatWest, which ended in February 1997. TPF was formed in July 1997 following the successful launch of Sainsbury's Bank by its main UK competitor, Sainsbury's. The bank was launched as a joint venture with the Royal Bank of Scotland, which processed all its financial transactions. Subsidiary companies of the Royal Bank, such as Direct Line, UKI and Lombard Direct helped Tesco Personal Finance provide insurance products.

Tesco

Tesco PLC is a British multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom. It is the third largest retailer in the world measured by profits and second-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues. It has stores in 12 countries across Asia and Europe and is the grocery market leader in the UK (where it has a market share of around 28.4%), Ireland, Hungary,Malaysia, and Thailand.

Tesco was founded in 1919 by Jack Cohen as a group of market stalls. The Tesco name first appeared in 1924, after Cohen purchased a shipment of tea from T. E. Stockwell and combined those initials with the first two letters of his surname, and the first Tesco store opened in 1929 in Burnt Oak, Barnet. His business expanded rapidly, and by 1939 he had over 100 Tesco stores across the country.

Originally a UK grocery retailer, since the early 1990s Tesco has diversified geographically and into areas such as the retailing of books, clothing, electronics, furniture, toys, petrol and software; financial services; telecoms and internet services. The 1990s saw Tesco reposition itself; it moved from being a down-market high-volume low-cost retailer, to one which appeals across many social groups, by offering products ranging from its "Tesco Value" items (launched 1993) to its "Tesco Finest" range. This broadening of its appeal was successful, and saw the chain grow from 500 stores in the mid-1990s to 2,500 stores fifteen years later.

Tesco (disambiguation)

Tesco PLC is an international retailer with headquarters in the United Kingdom.

Tesco may also refer to: