Homebase puts 1,500 jobs at risk with plan to close 42 stores

DIY and garden retailer Homebase is to become the latest UK retailer to resort to a controversial insolvency process to rid itself of 42 unprofitable stores, the company confirmed on Tuesday. The proposal may face opposition, given that many of the difficulties Homebase faced stem from mistakes made by its former Australian owner, Wesfarmers. Wesfarmers bought Homebase in 2016, despite being advised not to by Archie Norman, a prominent figure in British retailing. A plan to rebrand Homebase stores under the Bunnings name and change the product mix went badly wrong. Founded in 1979, Homebase is the UK's second-largest DIY retailer after Kingfisher-owned B&Q, with a market share of about 7 per cent.

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