Wealth management firm Close Brothers has sold its retail point of sale finance business for an undisclosed sum.
The company, which has about £10bn in assets under management, sold Close Brothers Retail Finance to Swedish payment solutions group Klarna Bank AB.
Close Brothers Retail Finance provides unsecured finance to consumers through retailers at the point of sale, and has worked with companies such as Jessops, Samsung and Cotswold Outdoor.
In a statement, Close Brothers said: "The sale reflects the group's decision to exit the unsecured retail point of sale finance market after gradually and incrementally developing this business and assessing the market opportunity over the last several years.
"The group has concluded that the business does not provide a long-term fit with our predominantly secured business model."
The business had a loan book of £66m as of the end of July 2018 and the sale is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Close Brothers has wealth management, lending and deposit taking divisions and is a member of the FTSE 250.
damian.fantato@ft.com
