Homebase has put 74 stores up for sale after the DIY chain fell
into administration.
The company has set a deadline of the end of next week for potential buyers to
snap up its remaining shops in the UK and Ireland.
Homebase appointed administrators at consultancy Teneo after it
was hit hard by an 'incredibly challenging' three years for the DIY sector.
Administrators struck a deal to sell the business to retail group CDS, which owns The Range and Wilko, securing the future of up to 1,600 jobs and 70 stores.
However, the future of 2,000 other workers and its remaining stores was left hanging in the balance.
They have set a deadline of November 29 for potential suitors
to buy the remaining stores, amid efforts to secure more funds for creditors.
Homebase's collapse came amid reports that banking giant
Wells Fargo declined to extend the group's lending facility due to concerns
about its finances.
The concerns arose as the retailer waits for around £5 million to be remitted back to it in tax
rebates.
Homebase in Upton on the Wirral. The chain is trying to sell its remaining 74 stores
after appointing administrators
The chain's store in Wolverhampton is among stores looking for a
buyer
A Homebase store in Berwick-upon-Tweed. While the company has been sold to retail group
CDS, the future of its remaining stores and 2,000
jobs remains in doubt
Commercial real estate adviser Altus Group, which represented
the chain, said more than 50 checks, challenges and
appeals against the retailer's property tax liabilities were outstanding
at the time of its collapse.
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The company was seeking reductions in the
overall rateable value of its store portfolio by £5.7 million following
a 2023 revaluation of its annual business rates bill.
Altus said that had these been dealt with before the retailer's collapse, it would have resulted in tax rebates of around £5 million for the 2023/24 and 2024/25
financial years.
Alex Probyn, president of property tax at Altus Group, said:
'The appeal process is just far too slow and ultimately damaging to cash flow.
'With business now facing the biggest tax increases in three decades, the 2023 tax base must be corrected quickly to ensure that ratepayers not only receive their rebates timely but also have the
confidence that their bills have been set fairly.'
Homebase and Teneo have been contacted for comment.
The 74 Homebase stores up for sale
Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Alnwick, Northumberland
Altrincham Retail Park, Manchester
Junction One Retail Park, Antrim, Northern Ireland
Barnstaple, Devon
Basildon, Essex
Basingstoke, Hampshire
Shane Park, Belfast
Berwick upon Tweed, Northumberland
Biggleswade, Bedfordshire
Battery Retail Park, Birmingham
Bishop Auckland, County Durham
Bracknell, Berkshire
Enterprise Five Retail Park, Bradford
Branksome, Poole
Bridgend Retail Park, Bridgend, Wales
Broadstairs, Kent
Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk
The Orbital Retail Centre, Cannock, Staffordshire
Horsted Retail Park, Chatham, Kent
Cheltenham
Greyhound Retail Park, Chester
Discovery Park, Chichester
Colchester Stanway, Colchester
Gallagher Retail Park, Coventry
Rushmore Retail Park, Craigavon
Daventry, Northamptonshire
Wyvern Retail Park, Derby
Dumfries, Scotland
Halbeath Retail Park, Dunfermline, Scotland
Farnham Retail Park, Farnham
Folkestone, Kent
Drumkeen Complex, Belfast
Retail World, Gateshead
Gloucester
Hamilton, Scotland
Hanworth, Feltham, London
Harlow, Essex
Eddington Business Park, Herne Bay, Kent
Tyne Valley Retail Park, Hexham
Heath Retail Park, Honiton
Hove, Brighton & Hove
Hull
Leamington Spa
Ledbury, Herefordshire
Moor Allerton Centre, Leeds
Letterkenny, Republic of Ireland
Lewes, East Sussex
London Catford
London Streatham Vale
Luton
South Aylesford Retail Park, Maidstone
Milton Keynes
Navan Retail Park, Republic of Ireland
Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire
Norwich Hall Road
Norwich Sprowston
Madford Retail Park, Nottingham
Oban, Scotland
Oldbury, West Midlands
Wyndham Retail Park, Portishead
Romford, Essex
Saffron Walden, Essex
Sleaford, Lincolnshire
St Albans
Sudbury, Suffolk
Wrekin Retail Park, Telford
Truro, Cornwall
Tunbridge Wells
Upton, Wirral
Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire
Waterford, Republic of Ireland
Wolverhampton
Worcester
Wells Fargo
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