Homebase store closures hit Macclesfield and Warrington

Homebase stores in Macclesfield and Warrington are set to close after the DIY and garden retailer announced plans to axe 42 of its 241 outlets over the next 16 months.

The troubled retailer was bought by restructuring company Hilco for £1 from its former owner, Australian retailer Wesfarmers, which had previously paid £340m for the company in 2016.

Hilco has now set out a Creditors Voluntary Arrangement for the business which includes closing 42 stores across the country. The North West has escaped largely unscathed with only two stores – Macclesfield and Warrington – earmarked for closure. The store in Macclesfield is off the A523 alongside Matalan and Superbowl; while the store in Warrington is at Riverside Retail Park.

Three are set to close in London along with seven stores in Scotland.

Other stores in the North West including those in Merseyside including Formby and Upton, and Greater Manchester stores including Horwich, Bredbury, and Altrincham, will remain open. In Lancashire, Morecambe, Preston Riversway and Clitheroe stores will also avoid closure.

The retailer has already closed 17 stores this year and staff numbers at its Milton Keynes headquarters have also been cut by 303; the company said the latest round of store closures could put up to 1,500 jobs at risk.

Homebase’s CVA is being carried out by restructuring firm Alvarez & Marsal.

Homebase chief executive Damian McGloughlin said the decision to close the stores had not been “taken lightly”.

“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 underperformance of the business and deal with the burden of our cost base, as well as to protect thousands of jobs,” he said.