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| Homebase set to close 42 stores | Homebase set to close 42 stores |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| DIY retailer Homebase is set to to announce plans to close 42 stores, putting about 1,500 jobs at risk. | DIY retailer Homebase is set to to announce plans to close 42 stores, putting about 1,500 jobs at risk. |
| Restructuring company Hilco, which bought the DIY chain for £1 in May, is expected to confirm its plans for a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) on Tuesday. | Restructuring company Hilco, which bought the DIY chain for £1 in May, is expected to confirm its plans for a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) on Tuesday. |
| It bought the struggling chain from Australia's Wesfarmers after its disastrous foray into the UK market. | It bought the struggling chain from Australia's Wesfarmers after its disastrous foray into the UK market. |
| Homebase has 241 stores and 11,000 employees. | Homebase has 241 stores and 11,000 employees. |
| A total of 17 Homebase stores have already closed this year and the business has also cut 303 jobs at its head office in Milton Keynes. | |
| A CVA is a controversial insolvency procedure used by struggling firms to close underperforming shops. | |
| Restructuring experts at Alvarez & Marsal will carry out the CVA, which will require the support of landlords. | |
| The move is likely to anger property owners, who say that CVAs leave them out of pocket. | |
| The measure has been adopted by a number of retailers including New Look, Carpetright and Mothercare in recent months. | |
| Wesfarmers bought Homebase in 2016 for £340m and planned to rebrand the chain with its Bunnings brand. | |
| However, the Australian company admitted making a number of "self-induced" blunders, including underestimating winter demand for items such as heaters, as well as dropping popular kitchen and bathroom ranges. | However, the Australian company admitted making a number of "self-induced" blunders, including underestimating winter demand for items such as heaters, as well as dropping popular kitchen and bathroom ranges. |
| Catherine Shuttleworth of retail consultancy Savvy said Homebase was a business "under attack from all sides", with alienated customers finding "good alternatives in B&M, supermarkets' own home sections, Wilko and others". | |
| She added: "This will go down in retail history as an example of needing to know the market - retailing is not necessarily globally portable. Chucking out the management was an ill-advised decision." |