Tesco is weighing the sale of its central European business, a move that would narrow the supermarket group's focus to the UK and Ireland.
The British retailer has held talks with bankers about divesting its operations in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, where it runs 561 stores and employs roughly 22,000 staff, including more than 10,000 in the Czech Republic alone. Tesco declined to comment on what it called market speculation.
The European division generated £4.5 billion in revenue last year, contributing £115 million to the group's £3.2 billion adjusted operating profit, while total group sales reached £66.6 billion. Shares were marginally lower following reports of the potential exit.