14th Nov 2014 06:51
LONDON (Alliance News) - Discount retailer B&M European Value Retail SA Friday is in talks to buy dozens of Home Retail Group PLC's Homebase stores in a multi-million pound deal, Sky News reported late Thursday.
The talks are for B&M to buy "a substantial number" of the DIY stores, which Home Retail will be closing the doors on over the next few years, according to Sky.
Home Retail announced its plans to shrink its Homebase store portfolio last month, in an effort to strengthen its offering both in-store and online to improve profitability. The group said it will reduce Homebase's store estate by 25% by the end of the 2018 financial year, from 323 at the end of the 2014 financial year, through scheduled lease expirations and a series of property exit transactions. It said it will close 80 Homebase stores in total - 30 by the end of this year, and 50 over the next couple of years. Homebase's store estate is in out-of-town retail parks.
http://news.sky.com/story/1372793/discounter-b-and-m-in-talks-over-homebase-stores
By Rowena Harris-Doughty; [email protected]; @rharrisdoughty
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