John Lewis Partnership is teaming up with wealth management platform Nutmeg to offer socially responsible investments as its attempts to revive its fortunes progress.
The department store and Waitrose owner has been battered by the Covid-19 pandemic, running up losses of £517mln in the year to January and closing 16 shops and shedding 4,000 jobs to cut costs.
The move into savings is its latest shift away from retail where chair Sharon White has set a target of 40% of its business to come outside of shopping by 2030.
Last week, the group confirmed it would build 10,000 houses on land surrounding its stores and elsewhere while today’s announcement said in conjunction with Nutmeg it will offer three ethical investment options - a junior ISA, a general investment account and a stocks and shares ISA.
The Nutmeg products have been operating since September 2018.
Amir Goshtai, John Lewis financial services director, said: “The pandemic has been tough for many, but others have managed to save more every month. They’ve also reassessed how they want to spend their money – more than ever, they want to secure their financial future and that of their families.
“Our products allow people to put money aside and to take that first step into what is often perceived as the complicated world of investments.
Earlier this year, US banking giant JP Morgan agreed to buy Nutmeg for around a reported £700mln as part of its push into the UK retail market and financial industry watchers said partnering with a powerful brand such as John Lewis was a huge coup for the robo-adviser.