B&Q owner buys Focus stores for £23m to expand its chain
Kingfisher, the owner of B&Q, has bought 31 stores from stricken chain Focus DIY for £23m after the company went into administration.
Kingfisher, which also owns the Screwfix brand, said it plans to refit the properties and open them as new B&Q stores later in the year. Ernst & Young, appointed as administrator to Focus DIY, said the remaining 144 stores will continue to trade as usual.
The 31 stores will continue to run as Focus DIY until July, when they will be closed for conversion. Administrators are still looking for a buyer for the remaining stores.
Kingfisher said its new stores have a total of 700 staff, and these will not be transferred to the new B&Q stores, but will be welcome to apply for positions. It added that the acquisition would speed up plans to expand its 850-store B&Q chain.
Kingfisher chief executive Ian Cheshire said: "This is a good opportunity for us to accelerate our previously announced plans to expand B&Q into carefully targeted UK locations where we currently have no store representation. This will bring better choice and lower prices to customers and provide secure jobs and career prospects in these communities."
Focus DIY has been hit by low consumer confidence and a weak housing market, which has placed considerable pressure on sales and margins. The chain, which employs 3,920 people, has struggled in recent years against tough competition from B&Q and Wickes. Management had tried to control costs and restructure the business but had to call in administrators earlier this week.
Simon Allport, joint administrator at Ernst & Young, said the Kingfisher deal represented an "exceptional outcome" for creditors of Focus DIY.