Tesco looks to expand financial division

Tesco Bank has this week confirmed a deal with insurance giant Fortis UK which will see Tesco travel insurance transacted through the Fortis UK network. It is believed that the travel operation of Tesco Bank has around 170,000 customers each year with gross premiums estimated at around £59 million. It is unclear what kind of profit each party will take from the agreement but this would appear to be the next stage of previous agreements on motor and household insurance.

There will be a further 30 jobs created within the Fortis UK operations with speculation that more arrangements could be announced in the short to medium term as Tesco looks to increase its financial offshoot. While the supermarket operation will always be the frontline of the Tesco group there is no doubt that the company has perfected the art of filtering customers to various other operations in the group and increasing income and profitability.

There are few other supermarket operations in the UK which have been half as successful as Tesco Bank in a relatively short space of time. Quite what we can expect in the future from Tesco Bank remains to be seen but the company seems to be offering value for money to its millions of UK customers.