Bunnings’ owner has started a search for buyers for the DIY retailer while considering the closure of 40 underperforming stores with a company voluntary arrangement (CVA).
According to Sky News, Wesfarmers has drafted in Lazard to help secure a buyer for its 250 stores estate in the UK, after it purchased Homebase in 2016 for £340 million.
Since then, it has been pushing to convert the Homebase estate into Bunnings but has faced significant financial troubles in the process.
Australian-based Wesfarmers reported in February that its group profits had dropped 86.6 per cent, having been dragged down by its introduction into the UK.
It revealed a £506 million write-down of Bunnings UK, a sum larger than its original buying price, alongside a £15.5 per cent drop in Bunnings UK revenues.
Though an outright sale is understood to be the most likely outcome, with Lazard having already approached a range of new prospective owners, a CVA is also on the cards.
Executives are understood to have already pledged to close around 40 underperforming stores.
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