United Kingdom

Focus

United Kingdom

Capital: London | Area: 245 000 km² |
Population (2021): 67.0 mio | GDP (2021): € 2 695 bn

Online problems in Benelux

Toolstation grows significantly in the UK

The British specialist retail chain Toolstation closed the first half of the year with sales growth of 2.7 per cent year-on-year to GBP 418 mio (EUR 481 mio). Like-for-like growth was 2.9 per cent. At the end of June, …

Distribution5. August 2025

Up 7.7 percent

Wickes picks up speed in the second quarter

Sales figures for British DIY chain Wickes picked up significantly in the second quarter. Compared to the same period last year, total …

Distribution25. July 2025

First quarter

Wickes grows with retail division and in trade business

British DIY chain Wickes has reported a strong start to the year. In the first quarter (ending 26 April 2025) of its …

Distribution15. May 2025

First quarter

Only Toolstation delivers sales growth for Travis Perkins

British building materials retailer Travis Perkins only recorded sales growth in the first quarter through its Toolstation…

Distribution2. May 2025

France discontinued, closures in Benelux

Toolstation like-for-like sales grow by 1.9 per cent

The British builders' merchant group Travis Perkins achieved a 2.5 per cent increase in turnover last year with its Toolstation…

Distribution1. April 2025

British DIY chain

Wickes' retail business grows by 1.9 per cent

The British DIY group Wickes achieved an increase in sales of 1.9 per cent to GBP 1.2123 bn (EUR 1.4446 bn) in its Retail division …

Distribution28. January 2025

British DIY brand

Paramount Retail Group acquires Bartoline

Paramount Retail Group has acquired Bartoline, a British brand in the DIY and decorating industry. The GBP 23 mio acquisition (EUR 28 mio)…

Suppliers19. December 2024

British garden centre chain

Dobbies closes ten locations and sells two

The British garden centre chain dobbies can carry out the restructuring it applied for in September. The restructuring plan was approved …

Garden12. December 2024

UK and Ireland positive, France negative

Kingfisher just misses quarterly sales

Kingfisher was unable to maintain its sales in the third quarter (August to October 2020). Overall, the British DIY store group generated …

Distribution25. November 2024

Acquired by The Range

Homebase insolvent, the majority of stores sold

The British DIY chain Homebase has slipped into insolvency. Teneo Financial Advisory Limited was appointed as insolvency …

Distribution15. November 2024

Activities in France discontinued

Quarterly turnover of Toolstation increases by 1.7 per cent

The Toolstation sales division of the British building materials trading group Travis Perkins increased its turnover by …

Distribution25. October 2024

After a mixed half-year

Wickes significantly increases retail sales in the third quarter

The British DIY chain Wickes has reported growth in the third quarter after a mixed first half of the year. Retail …

Distribution22. October 2024

Trade Point and e-commerce positive

Kingfisher sales down in the first half of the year

The British Kingfisher Group closed the first half of its 2024/2025 financial year (ending 31 July 2024) with a drop in sales. …

Distribution19. September 2024

Down 3.9 per cent in the first half of the year

Wickes loses in Design & Installation, but maintains Retail sales

The British DIY chain Wickes generated around GBP 799.9 million (EUR 948.1 million) in the first half of 2024…

Distribution17. September 2024

Toolstation parent company

Pete Redfern becomes the new boss of Travis Perkins

The British builders' merchant group Travis Perkins has a new director and CEO. Pete Redfern will take up the post on 16 …

Distribution10. July 2024

Succession for Bernard Bot

Bhavesh Mistry will become new Kingfisher CFO

Kingfisher has announced that Bhavesh Mistry will join the company's board as Chief Financial Officer. Bhavesh will succeed current …

Distribution17. June 2024

Plus in the UK, minus in France

Kingfisher maintains its turnover in the first quarter

Kingfisher keeps its turnover stable. In the first quarter of the 2024/2025 financial year (ending 30 April 2024), the …

Distribution21. May 2024

Down 4.2 per cent

Wickes Group starts the first quarter of 2024 with a loss

In the first quarter of the current year, the British Wickes Group generated 4.2 per cent less turnover than in the same …

Distribution3. May 2024

Travis Perkins

Toolstation loses 0.9 per cent in the first quarter

The British Travis Perkins Group generated like-for-like sales of 0.9 per cent less with its Toolstation sales format in the …

Distribution29. April 2024

Smaller format makes progress

Wickes almost matches previous year's sales in 2023

In 2023, the British DIY chain Wickes almost maintained its turnover from the previous year. The volume of GBP 1.5538 bn (EUR 1…

Distribution21. March 2024

Kingfisher

Screwfix soon to be online pure player in 20 European countries

Screwfix, the professional-oriented sales division of the British Kingfisher Group, wants to be present as an o…

Distribution21. September 2023

Positive in UK and Ireland

Kingfisher's first-half sales slightly down on previous year

UK-based Kingfisher Group has ended the first half of its 2023/2024 financial year (February to July) with a slight …

Distribution20. September 2023

United Kingdom

Wilko to be wound up, some stores to be taken over

The British DIY and household goods chain Wilko is insolvent and will be wound up. The liquidator, PwC, announced earlier this …

Distribution13. September 2023

First half year

Wickes grows through DIFM

UK DIY chain Wickes has reported a 0.7 per cent year-on-year increase in sales for the first half of the year, with turnover of GBP 927.7 mio (EUR 1.080 …

Distribution12. September 2023

UK, Benelux and France

Toolstation grows 9 per cent in first six months

Toolstation, the professional sales division of UK building materials group Travis Perkins, grew 9.0 per cent in the first half of …

Distribution3. August 2023

Downward adjustment of -3.3 per cent

Kingfisher maintains quarterly sales in nominal terms

The UK-based Kingfisher Group has maintained its sales in the first quarter of its 2023/2024 financial year. From February to …

Distribution24. May 2023

United Kingdom

Wickes increases like-for-like sales by 3.5 per cent in 2022

The British DIY chain Wickes has increased its sales by 1.8 per cent to GBP1.5624 billion in the past year. …

Distribution30. March 2023

16 per cent online share

Kingfisher misses previous year's sales level by 0.9 per cent in 2022/2023

The UK’s Kingfisher Group generated sales of around GBP 13.059 bn (EUR 14.954 bn) in fiscal 2022/2023 …

Distribution21. March 2023

Plus 22.8 per cent compared with 2019

Wickes increases 2022 sales by 3.5 per cent compared with 2021

The UK DIY chain Wickes ended 2022 with like-for-like sales growth of 3.5 per cent. While sales in the core segment …

Distribution1. February 2023

Third quarter

Kingfisher maintains total sales and is well ahead of 2019

Kingfisher reports third-quarter sales (three months ending 31 October 2022) of GBP 3.263 bn (EUR 3.797 billion). This …

Distribution25. November 2022

Wickes stagnant in third quarter of 2022

Sales at UK home improvement retailer Wickes stagnated at 0.0 per cent growth in the third quarter of 2022. The company also announced that…

Distribution24. October 2022

State funeral

Logos in black and closed stores in the UK

In the UK, Kingfisher's B&Q stores and Screwfix locations, as well as Wickes stores, will be closed next Monday, 19 September 2022, …

Distribution14. September 2022

First quarter

Kingfisher down year-on-year but up double-digits on 2019 sales

UK-based Kingfisher Group has reported a 5.8 per cent (-4.2 per cent in constant currency, -5.4 per cent in constant…

Distribution23. May 2022

Online share 18 per cent

Kingfisher’s like-for-like sales grow by 9.9 per cent

Like-for-like sales growth of almost 10 per cent has been reported by the UK-based Kingfisher Group for its 2021/2021 …

Distribution22. March 2022

Senior management changes

New Kingfisher CCO, new CEO at Castorama Poland and Brico Dépôt France

The Kingfisher Group has announced a number of senior management changes. Sebastien Krysiak, currently CEO of…

Distribution18. February 2022

Electrical wholesaler

Yesss wants to grow its B2C sales

The UK subsidiary of the French group is celebrating its 10th anniversary

Distribution7. February 2022

Great Britain

Wickes grows like-for-like by 13 per cent in 2021

The British chain of DIY stores, Wickes, completed financial year 2021 (ending 25 December 2021) with a growth in like-for-like …

Distribution25. January 2022

Up to November

British garden centres make 30 per cent more

Garden centres in Great Britain made around 30 per cent more from January to November 2021 than in the same period of the previous year…

News6. January 2022

Now also in London

Dobbies expands with small format stores

The British garden centre chain has established an inner-city small store format under the brand "Little Dobbies". After its …

News19. July 2021

Online tripled in two years

Kingfisher sales in Q2 below previous year but 22 per cent over 2019

From the start of May to 10 July 2021, the British Kingfisher group made like-for-like 1.3 per cent less sales …

News15. July 2021

Full year 2020

5.5 per cent like-for-like growth at Wickes

British home improvement chain Wickes increased its sales last year by 3.6 per cent to GBP 1.391 bn (EUR 1.609 bn). Like-for-like …

News2. March 2021

Over 1.5 million households

UK property market provides a boost to the DIY sector

Over 1.5 million UK households are currently wanting to move, moving soon, moving now, just moved or are settling in to their …

News16. February 2021

Three-digit online plus

Kingfisher continues to grow in double-digit figures in November and December

The British Kingfisher group has reported continued double-digit growth rates. However there are …

News14. January 2021

UK - DIY retail industry

The virus and the trends

More e-commerce, more collaboration, less Far East sourcing: Neil Munz-Jones analyses how the UK DIY retail industry is coping with the Covid-19 pandemic

Distribution26. June 2020

Two weeks after England and Wales

Scottish garden centres are also allowed to open again

In Scotland, garden centres are allowed to open again from today, 29 May 2020. This was announced by the Scottish government …

News29. May 2020

Trial of new concept

Homebase opens new Decorate stores

Homebase tests a new store concept. The British home improvement retailer has opened two stores under the new Decorate by Homebase brand in …

News28. May 2020

Kantar

Brits respond positively to DIY retailers' protective measures

The vast majority of DIY store customers in the UK were satisfied with the measures taken against Covid-19 in the …

News22. May 2020

Wickes still closed

B&Q and Homebase have reopened first stores

In Great Britain too, DIY store operators have begun to reopen their stores. For example, market leader B&Q has already put more …

News28. April 2020

Kantar survey

Brits want to use lockdown for DIY projects

As social distancing measures remain in place in the UK, 12.5 mio British households are planning to keep busy with DIY jobs in the …

News14. April 2020

Temporarily closed

DIY stores in Great Britain may sell “essential” ranges

Most businesses are likewise now closed in Great Britain. Exemptions from this order, however, include "home and …

News24. March 2020

Covid-19

Update UK: Stores open, shelves restocked

In the United Kingdom, retail stores continue to remain open. However, 24-hour supermarkets have begun closing at 10 pm so they can …

News19. March 2020

Travis Perkins

Wickes increases its sales by 7.7 per cent in 2019

The British DIY store chain Wickes increased its sales last year by a total of 7.7 per cent and by 8.7 per cent on a …

News3. February 2020

June

Strongest drop in UK retail sector for ten years

In June, retail sales volumes in the UK fell at their fastest pace since March 2009, i.e. during the financial crisis. The hardware…

News28. June 2019

UK and Ireland - Woodie's

The Irish number 1

Woodie’s DIY has emerged stronger from the transformation programme that the Grafton Group implemented in the traditional Irish company

Distribution4. June 2019

UK and Ireland - Statistics Republic of Ireland

One top dog and many stores

On the Irish DIY and hardware market, not only chains with more or less big boxes are active, but also several cooperatives of independent hardware …

Distribution4. June 2019

Uk and Ireland - Statistics

DIY remains very popular

The Hardware Association Ireland presents good branch statistics for 2018. These match the results of a consumer survey which confirm even the young Irish …

Distribution4. June 2019

UK and Ireland - Garden centres

Resilience to economic uncertainty

While the British retail sector is suffering under consumers’ Brexit worries and its online competitors, garden centres are reinventing …

Distribution4. June 2019

UK and Ireland - Statistics

Average exception

The density of DIY stores in the otherwise dominant England with its Greater London area corresponds exactly to the share of population and GDP

Distribution29. April 2019

Horticultural Trades Association

UK garden market up by three per cent in 2018

The UK garden market grew last year by 3 per cent. It has a volume of GBP 5.7 bn. These figures have been published by the …

News29. March 2019

Garden centres

Very British

Garden centres in Great Britain are in a class of their own. A small store tour in Greater London

Garden27. July 2018

Market in 2017

British spending on plants shoots up

The market for garden plants in Great Britain reached a volume of GBP 1.424 bn in 2017. Of this figure, bedding plants accounted for GBP 606 mi…

News27. April 2018

AMA

Online garden sales grow by 20 per cent in the UK

Internet sales of garden products in the UK more than doubled between 2011 and 2015. In 2015, the growth in sales came to 24 per …

News16. December 2016

European Consumer Barometer 2015

British DIYers ponder before purchasing

After all, renovation projects, as well as buying DIY tools and garden equipment are particularly important to them, according to the …

Distribution29. October 2015

Great Britain and Ireland - DIY retailers

The British patient is back on its feet

The British home improvement market is back on the road to recovery after a couple of tough years. The DIY retailers find themselves in a …

Distribution1. April 2015

Great Britain and Ireland - Euromonitor International

The market recovers

Good weather brings positive growth for home improvement in the UK and Ireland, says Cruz del Barrio of Euromonitor. And after years of struggle, the prospects…

Distribution1. April 2015

Saturated markets - Great Britain

World of endless choice

When one talks about the subject of “home”, it’s more about emotion than function. This is also the chance for retailers and suppliers in the fiercely …

Distribution27. January 2015