B&Q to take over five Homebase stores in £2.5m deal

The UK's largest home improvement retailer, B&Q, has agreed to buy five Homebase stores across the UK after its rival collapsed into administration last year.

The deal, worth £2.5m, will see the stores converted to B&Q shops by the end of the year.

They are in Altrincham in Greater Manchester, Basingstoke in Hampshire, Biggleswade in Bedfordshire, Leamington Spa in Warwickshire, and Worcester in Worcestershire.

Staff at the sites will become B&Q employees.

Homebase was forced to call in administrators in November, blaming weaker consumer confidence and spending after the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis for sharp losses.

It later struck a deal with retail group CDS for the sale of up to 70 stores, securing about 1,600 jobs.

CDS owns The Range outlets and also bought parts of high street retailer Wilko after it collapsed in 2023.

But it meant that the future of 49 Homebase UK stores remained hanging in the balance while administrators looked for a buyer.

B&Q, which has more than 300 stores in the UK and Ireland and is owned by Kingfisher, will take control of five of those sites as part of the deal, subject to approvals from landlords.

B&Q, which has its head office in Eastleigh, Hampshire, said it expected the stores to be converted to its own brand in the spring, with refurbishments completed by the end of the year.

The firm's chief executive Graham Bell said he was "delighted" to be expanding the retailer's network, adding to three stores in Ireland purchased for about £3.2m at the end of last year.

Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.