TESCO is poised to launch a major offensive into Britain’s multibillion-pound mortgage lending market as part of a drive to seize more sales in financial services, The Times has learnt.
Tesco Personal Finance — a joint venture between Britain’s biggest supermarket and Royal Bank of Scotland — will hold a key board meeting at the beginning of October to decide whether to go ahead with its plans.
Tesco wants to offer its customers the opportunity to take out a new Tesco-branded mortgage or remortgage their existing property while buying their weekly groceries.
Currently, Tesco customers can only take out a mortgage through the One Account, which is owned and sold by Royal Bank, Tesco’s personal finance partner.
Last year, the supermarket group derived £80 million