UK DIY News
B&M Boss Admits to Interest in Homebase
Simon Arora, CEO of the 576 store B&M discount chain, has admitted to eyeing up the estates of struggling rivals as his company continues their aggressive expansion plans.
Along with his brother Bobby, Arora, has transformed B&M into a £3 billion business and said: “We are agnostic whether the stores come from existing operators or new space. Whether it’s M&S or a CMA-led disposal in the case of Sainsbury’s and Asda or a distressed retailer such as Homebase. We have an open mind, we don’t care.”
B&M has outgrown many of its rivals in recent years as shown by the chart below:-
The company saw pre-tax profits leap 23.6% to £226.1 million on a turnover of £2.9 billion, up 22.4% for the year ending 31st March 2018.
Read - B&M Retail delivers another stunning set of results.
The discount chain has ambitious plans for 950 stores in the UK and has said that its stores in the south-east are now more profitable than those in the north, which is of course where a large majority of the Homebase stores are located.
Source: Insight DIY Team
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