Travis Perkins halts Wickes demerger

Travis Perkins is to put a halt on its demerger with Wickes because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The Northampton firm announced this morning said the process would be paused so that the Board can “focus on managing the Group through the current challenges”.

A statement from the firm said: “Whilst it is impossible to know exactly when it will be appropriate to re-start the demerger process, the intent to demerge remains unchanged, and we believe that we are in an advanced state of preparedness and would hope to be able to move forward swiftly when it is appropriate to do so.

“The current level of uncertainty means it is too early for the Group to provide an accurate assessment on trading and the Group withdraws all market guidance in the near-term. The Group will provide further updates when there is greater clarity on the impact of COVID-19 on the trading environment.”