DIY group B&Q Ireland has agreed to acquire three leasehold stores that are currently trading as Homebase in Navan, Letterkenny and Waterford for £3.2 million (€3.9 million). This will add to the eight stores that the British chain already has here and follows the collapse recently of the Homebase group in the UK and Ireland.
On completion of the acquisition, following a period of consultation, the 65 staff at the three stores will become employees of B&Q, the company said.
B&Q said the deal is subject to landlord and regulatory approvals, with the transactions expected to complete in the first quarter of its parent company Kingfisher’s full year 2025/26 results.
B&Q’s plan is to convert the first of these stores to its banner in the first half of next year and to complete the conversion of all sites by the end of calendar year 2025.
Once converted, the stores will have a combined total selling area of over 9,300 sq m. Kingfisher operates the B&Q brand here for home DIY and TradePoint for trade professionals.
Commenting on the deal, Graham Bell chief executive of B&Q, said: “We’re delighted to be adding these three stores to our fantastic store network. We’re determined to give home improvers the choice and convenience they deserve, and these locations need a home improvement store that fulfils their need.
“We look forward to swiftly concluding the purchase and converting the stores to the B&Q brand and offer, and to welcoming our new customers to the stores and new colleagues to the B&Q family.”
B&Q has more than 300 stores in the UK and Ireland and is part of the listed company Kingfisher, a home improvement company operating 2,000 stores in eight countries across Europe.
In mid November, provisional liquidators were appointed to the company behind DIY and gardening retailer Homebase in Ireland following its “collapse”. Later that month, the High Court approved the sale of “certain assets” of Homebase in Ireland to The Range, which has also moved in on many of the chain’s UK stores. The court heard the Range’s offer related to two stores – Sligo and Nutgrove in Dublin – and would preserve the 50 jobs there.
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