The Range to take over 70 Homebase stores in rescue deal

Devon-based retailer The Range has agreed a deal that will save around half of the jobs at Homebase after the DIY chain collapsed into administration.

The Range will take over and eventually rebrand about 70 Homebase stores in a pre-pack deal. However 1,600 jobs are expected to be lost by Homebase’s failure.

The Range is also taking over Homebase’s brand and ecommerce business, and will take on around 1,600 of the DIY chain’s employees.

Teneo, which has been running a sale process in recent months, is expected to seek buyers for nearly 50 remaining Homebase stores once it is appointed as administrator.

The sale will bring an end to the six-year ownership of Homebase by Hilco, the retail investor which previously rescued brands including HMV.

Based in Devon, The Range is part of CDS Superstores, which is controlled by the businessman Chris Dawson.

Last year, it paid £7m to buy the brand and intellectual property assets of Wilko, which had collapsed into administration. Since then, Dawson has opened a string of new Wilko outlets.

The Range trades from more than 200 outlets across Britain selling homewares, furniture and DIY products.

Damian McGloughlin, CEO of Homebase, said: “It has been an incredibly challenging three years for the home and garden improvement market. A decline in consumer confidence and spending following the pandemic has been exacerbated by the impact of persistent high inflation, global supply chain issues and unseasonable weather. Against this backdrop, we have taken many and wide-ranging actions to improve trading performance including restructuring the business and seeking fresh investment. These efforts have not been successful and today we have made the difficult decision to appoint administrators.

“My priority is and continues to be our team members, and I recognise that this news will be unsettling for them. The sale of up to 70 UK stores to CDS is expected to protect up to 1,600 jobs and the remaining 49 UK stores will continue to trade as normal while the administrators complete discussions with potential buyers. I want to thank our team members and supplier partners from the bottom of my heart for their hard work and commitment over many years.”

Gavin Maher, joint administrator, commented: “We appreciate that this is a very difficult and uncertain time for all involved. The sale to CDS preserves the Homebase brand and secures a significant number of jobs and we hope to complete sales of additional stores over the coming weeks. The remainder of the stores will continue to trade whilst buyers are sought and we would encourage any party with an interest to get in touch. We thank Homebase’s team members and other stakeholders for their continued support.”