Homebase: sold for £969M, Wesfarmers lost £1B on it, then it went for £1 and closed

Homebase was founded in 1981 as a joint venture between Sainsbury's and GB-Inno-BM, growing to 283 stores as Britain's second-largest home improvement chain. Over four decades it was sold repeatedly — to Schroder Ventures for £969 million, then Argos for £900 million, then Home Retail Group. Each owner extracted value but the chain was never given a strategy that worked.

The fatal blow came in 2016, when Australian conglomerate Wesfarmers paid £340 million for Homebase and attempted to convert it into Bunnings, its Australian hardware chain. The 'Bunningsization' failed spectacularly: Wesfarmers tried to force Australian branding, pricing, and layout on a British market that did not want it. Three years later, Wesfarmers had lost over £1 billion and sold Homebase to restructuring firm Hilco for £1.

Hilco immediately closed 42 stores and cut 1,500 jobs via a Company Voluntary Arrangement. The chain limped on at reduced scale until November 2024, when Hilco placed Homebase into administration for the second time in six years. CDS Superstores (owner of The Range) bought the brand, website, and 49 stores. The remaining stores were acquired by B&Q and Wickes or shut. The final four original Homebase stores closed on 22 March 2025.