Tesco has appointed investment bank Greenhall & Co to sell its Dobbies Garden Centre business along with other non-core assets, according to Sky News.

It’s believed that Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis has hired Greenhall, a long-standing advisor to the company, to work on the sale of Dobbies as he focuses on reviving the core operations of Britain's biggest retailer.

Sky News sources said on Monday that Tesco also planned to sell Harris & Hoole, a chain of coffee shops it recently took full ownership of under an existing agreement with its other shareholders. Euphorium, a bakery business, is also likely to be closed.

Executives decided to close Nutricentre, a healthy living business, two weeks ago.

Dobbies was bought by Tesco in 2008, when the company was run by Sir Terry Leahy, the architect of its dominance of the UK grocery retail sector. It now has 35 garden centres across the UK, many of which are attached to Tesco stores, but recorded a  £48m loss in its 2014-15 financial year after writing down the value of its real estate.

A Tesco spokesman said the company did not comment on "rumour and speculation".