B&M Bargains confirms interest in Focus stores

B&M Retail is hoping to acquire the leases on some premises currently occupied by collapsed DIY chain Focus.

The move is part of an ongoing push by the high street retailer into out-of-town locations.

Executives from the Speke based retailer spent much of last week travelling the country to assess the suitability of Focus premises should they become available. However B&M is not interested in acquiring the business of Focus as a going concern.

B&M Retail joint managing director and part owner Simon Arora told the Daily Post: “Its something we are considering. Nothing decided as yet, at the most we would be interested in a handful.

“We are interested in talking to landlords about vacant premises, not in buying Focus stores as going concerns. We have ruled ourselves out when asked if we are interested in buying any of the stores as going concerns from the administrators.”

Last year B&M Retail, which trades on the high street as B&M Bargains, spent £48m buying out-of-town homewares chain Opus in a move that expanded its business into Scotland and Northern Ireland.

B&M Retail, which is one of the fastest-growing companies in the UK, relocated its headquarters to Speke from its former home in Blackpool last year. The move created hundreds of jobs in Merseyside.

At the time of the Opus deal, Mr Arora described it as “strategically important” to B&M.

The Opus stores were rebranded as B&M Bargains

Source :Bill Gleeson - Liverpool Daily Post.co.uk
www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/ldpbusiness/business-local/2011/05/16/speke-retailer-confirms-interest-in-diy-chain-s-premises-92534-28698219/