If it's not core business - sell it!

A divestiture or sale of a non-core subsidiary refers to a process where a company decides to dispose of a subsidiary business that is not part of its main operations or core business. This is often done to improve financial performance, streamline operations, or focus on core business activities.

Here are ten examples of public listed companies in the United Kingdom that have divested or sold non-core subsidiaries in the last 5 years:

BP - divested its Alaska upstream oil and gas business in 2020 to focus on its core operations.

Centrica - sold its Direct Energy business in the US in 2020 to focus on its core energy operations in the UK.

G4S - divested its cash solutions business in 2018 to focus on its core security operations.

HSBC - sold its retail banking and wealth management businesses in Turkey in 2020 to focus on its core banking operations.

Lloyds Banking Group - divested its insurance business, Lloyds Bank General Insurance, in 2018 to focus on its core banking operations.

National Grid - divested its gas distribution business in the UK in 2016 to focus on its core transmission operations.

Pearson - divested its English Language Teaching business in 2020 to focus on its core education operations.

Royal Bank of Scotland - divested its Williams & Glyn business in 2017 to focus on its core banking operations.

Standard Chartered - divested its wealth management business in Hong Kong in 2019 to focus on its core banking operations.

Tesco - sold its Harris + Hoole coffee chain in 2018 to focus on its core retail operations.

Companies should consider selling businesses that are important to their core activities and have more value to other firms than their own. Divestment, or the sale of non-core businesses, can bring numerous benefits to a company, including improved financial performance, increased focus on core operations, enhanced business strategies, reduced risk, and increased efficiency. It can also provide access to new opportunities and resources, as well as help to streamline operations and realign the business portfolio.