Up to 40 Homebase stores face closure putting 2,000 jobs at risk

'Disappointing' performance: Up to 40 Homebase stores may close
Reuters
Patrick Grafton-Green5 February 2018

Up to 40 Homebase stores face closure in the UK, putting 2,000 jobs at risk.

The DIY chain’s Australian owner, Wesfarmers, says it may be forced to close the stores after "disappointing” performance.

The parent company said on Monday that it expects to report a heavy loss of £97m in the first half of 2018 and has put Homebase under review.

It said Homebase’s poor performance has reduced the chain’s value by £454m.

Meanwhile shares in Wesfarmers fell by almost 5 per cent on Monday morning.

It paid £340million for Homebase in early 2016 and is in the process of rebranding it as Bunnings.

Westfarmers managing director, Rob Scott, said: "The Homebase acquisition has been below our expectations which is obviously disappointing.

"In light of this, a review of Bunnings UK has commenced to identify the actions required to improve shareholder returns."

A spokeswoman for Homebase said: “It's too early to say and it’s not appropriate to speculate at this point. Our team will always be the first to know of any updates.”

Homebase operates from 250 stores and employs 12,000 in total in the UK.

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