TalkTalk outlined plans to sell its B2B division to a special purpose vehicle owned by the telecoms group’s main shareholders in a £95 million deal, as it pushes ahead with a break-up of the business.

News of the deal comes less than a week after the company announced it would demerge into three standalone businesses: B2B Wholesale Platform; TalkTalk Consumer; and TalkTalk Business Direct.

The sale of the B2B unit keeps the business under ownership of the company’s biggest shareholders while continuing a separate wholesale connectivity agreement with another TalkTalk operation.

Bloomberg reported the deal could represent a preliminary step towards attempts to refinancing.

The three-way split of the group was driven by pressure to meet debt repayment deadlines, with high-yield bonds worth around £685 million maturing in February 2025.

As part of the demerger, group CEO Tristia Harrison is vacating the role to head up an oversight board to ensure the three units become operationally separate from 1 November and legally separate from 1 March 2024.