DIY stores for Homebase

The Home Retail Group, owner of the British DIY retailer Homebase, has bought 27 stores from Focus DIY for £ 40 mio (€ 57.7 mio). According to information from the Home Retail Group, it is intended to complete the transaction by 31 December 2007. This purchase will increase the total number of Homebase stores to 337. The new outlets are to be converted to the Homebase format by the spring of 2008, in an operation which the group estimates will cost a further £ 30 mio (€ 43.2 mio). Since its takeover by the private equity group Cerberus this summer, Focus DIY has identified 52 unprofitable stores in its portfolio and decided to either sell them or close them down.