Homebase confirms the 74 stores at risk of closure after chain tumbled into administration – is your local on the list?

11/23/2024 05:24 AM

HOMEBASE has put 74 stores up for sale just over a week after tumbling into administration.

The troubled DIY chain has set a deadline for the sites to be sold by next Friday.

If the stores, which are located across the UK and Ireland, aren’t bought, they could be at risk of closure.

Homebase appointed consultancy firm Teneo as administrators last Wednesday after it was hit hard by an “incredibly challenging” time for the DIY sector.

The administrators were able to strike a deal last week to sell the business to retail group CDS, which owns bargain chains The Range and Wilko.

This secured the jobs of 1,600 employees and 70 stores – all of which are set to be rebranded as The Range shops.

Chris Dawson, the owner of CDS, also bought Homebase‘s 40-year-old brand and its website as part of the deal.

Back in August, 10 Homebase stores were sold to Sainsbury’s.

But, the future of 2,000 other workers and its remaining stores was left hanging in the balance.

It’s now been confirmed that administrators have placed 74 leasehold Homebase stores on the market.

It comes after it’s been revealed that Homebase was waiting on around £5million of tax rebates before collapsing.

Administrators have set a deadline of November 29 for potential suitors to buy the remaining stores, in a bid to secure more funds for creditors.

Altus Group, a company that helps with commercial real estate, said that over 50 complaints and appeals about the retailer’s property taxes were unresolved when the retailer went out of business.

The company was trying to lower the total taxable value of its stores by £5.7million after a 2023 revaluation of its yearly business rates bill.

Altus Group mentioned that if these issues had been sorted out before the retailer went under, it would have led to tax refunds of about £5million for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years.

Alex Probyn, president of property tax at Altus Group, said: “The appeal process is just far too slow and ultimately damaging to cash flow.”

The Sun has contacted both Teneo and Homebase for comment and will update this story when we hear back.

Which stores are at risk?

We’ve put together a handy map so you can see if your local Homebase store has been put up for sale.

Of the 74 sites that have been put on the market, 62 are in England.

While a further four are located in Scotland and another four are in Northern Ireland.

One store in Wales is at risk and three in the Republic of Ireland.

It’s important to note that the stores up for sale will continue to operate as normal for the time being.

Damian McGloughlin, chief executive of Homebase, said last week: “It has been an incredibly challenging three years for the home and garden improvement market.

“My priority is and continues to be our team members, and I recognise that this news will be unsettling for them.”

He then thanked his employees and supplier partners “from the bottom of my heart” for their work.

What is happening to the other Homebase stores?

The CDS buyout saved approximately 1,600 jobs and up to 70 sites.

Alex Simpkin, chief executive of CDS Superstores, owner of The Range, said at the time: “We’ve stepped in following the sad demise of the much-loved Homebase brand, which has had a long and previously successful history of helping UK households with their DIY projects and gardening needs, for over 45-years.”

He confirmed that the Homebase brand will continue to trade online, and the acquired stores will continue to trade as Homebase over the coming months.

Once they are transferred to CDS they will “quickly” re-open as The Range superstores.

We’ve asked Homebase for the full list of stores purchased by CDS Superstores and will update readers once this has been announced.

CDS Superstores also previously acquired the Wilko name and intellectual property after it collapsed into administration last year.

The news last week followed reports that Hilco Capital, the owner of Homebase, had put the company up for sale in July.

Hilco Capital, which purchased Homebase from Wesfarmers in 2018 for £1, had started a formal sale process after being approached by The Range.

Other previously interested retailers in Homebase include B&M, the London-listed discount retailer.

It comes after 10 Homebase stores were sold to Sainsbury’s after the company agreed to acquire them from the DIY chain in August.

Once all stores are closed, Sainsbury’s will convert the units into new supermarkets.

The acquisition of the stores and refit programme to follow is expected to cost Sainsbury’s £130million.

The supermarket plans to open the first of these new stores by next summer, marking a significant expansion for the supermarket chain.

Homeware and DIY chains struggle

The news today follows a tricky time for home improvement chains, both large and small.

It comes as shoppers have been cutting back on spending following the pandemic.

Plus, the recent turmoil in the housing market has meant that homeowners aren’t as focused on DIY projects as they once were.

In the spring, Kingfisher, which owns B&Q and Screwfix, revealed that annual profits had slumped by more than a quarter.

The company reported a 25.1% drop in underlying pre-tax profits to £568million for the year to January 31, 2024.

Window and door specialist Everest called in administrators in April, leaving customers in the dark about their orders.

Last year, the group had previously cautioned profits would slip after a 36% drop in pre-tax profits from £1billion to £611million in the 12 months to January 2023.

Rival Wickes also reported a 31% fall in profits to £52million on flat revenues of £1.55billion for 2023.

Windows and doors company Safestyle collapsed into administration in October last year.

The company has a manufacturing site in Wombwell, near Barnsley and 42 sales branches and depots across the country.

Flooring retailer Tapi recently struck a multimillion-pound rescue deal to save the Carpetright brand and dozens of stores last month.

Tapi purchased 54 of the chain’s stores and two warehouses in a pre-pack administration deal that saved 300 jobs.

However, the deal did not include 200 other stores which all closed their doors.

Meanwhile, Homebase has launched an “administration sale” in some stores.

Plus, shoppers have been given updates on their orders following the retailer’s administration.

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