Dozens of jobstogoas Homebase closes three Irish stores

THREE Homebase stores in Ireland are among those earmarked for closure as part of a cull by the retailer’s owner, Hilco Capital.

Two stores in Dublin – at Fonthill and at Naas Road – will close, as will an outlet in Limerick, with the closures hitting dozens of jobs.

Homebase has a total of 11 outlets in Ireland that employ about 380 full and part-time staff.

The DIY and gardening centre chain confirmed yesterday that it is closing a total of 42 stores as part of a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) as it seeks approval from creditors to reduce its cost base in Britain and Ireland.

The stores are set to close between the end of this year and early 2019 and will result in up to 1,500 job losses.

Homebase was sold this year by its then Australian owner Wesfarmers, which had acquired the chain in 2016 for £340m (€381m).

The disastrous move into the UK market by Wesfarmers saw it sell Homebase for just £1 to turnaround specialist Hilco Capital.

“Launching a CVA has been a difficult decision and one that we have not taken lightly,” said Damian McGloughlin, the chief executive of Homebase.

“Homebase has been one of the most recognisable retail brands for almost 40 years, but the reality is we need to continue to take decisive action to address the under-performance of the business and deal with the burden of our cost base, as well as to protect thousands of jobs,” he added.

Profit

Homebase was making a profit when it was acquired by Wesfarmers.

But the chain confirmed yesterday that its sales performance and profitability “declined significantly” under the ownership of the Australian group.

Accounts for Homebase’s Irish operation show that it made a €10.7m pre-tax profit in the year ending February 27, 2017 – the most recent period for which accounts are publicly available.

That compared to a €2.4m loss the year before. Its revenue in the 2017 financial year rose to €48.6m compared to €47.5m a year earlier.

“After a comprehensive review, Homebase has concluded its current store portfolio mix is no longer viable,” the chain said yesterday in a statement.

“Rental costs associated with stores are unsustainable and many stores are loss-making.”