Sad sight after Homebase store shuts in Cheltenham
It used to be a place where people would head to for home improvements. Thousands of people across Gloucestershire will be sitting in rooms decorated with paints bought from Homebase - not to mention having garden furniture, lighting and bathroom accessories bought from the DIY chain.
But the Cheltenham branch on Tewkesbury Road is now shut. It was one of a number of stores earmarked for closure last year and it now sits boarded up.
The store used to be further along the Tewkesbury Road at Centrum Retail Park but moved half-a-mile east to a new site. It replaced The Range which moved into the old Homebase at Centrum.
READ MORE: DIY chain Homebase shutting 13 stores 'within weeks' - full list
Today (Tuesday, January 21), metal shutters cover the former Homebase store, near the Kwik Fit garage. A pinned notice says that the store has closed.
Earlier this month, B&Q agreed to buy five Homebase stores across the UK, cementing its place as the country’s largest home improvement retailer after the rival collapsed into administration last year. The deal, worth £2.5 million, will see the stores converted to B&Q shops by the end of the year.
Homebase was forced to call in administrators in November, blaming weaker consumer confidence and spending after the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis for sharp losses. It later struck a deal with retail group CDS for the sale of up to 70 stores, securing about 1,600 jobs.
CDS owns The Range outlets and also bought parts of high street retailer Wilko after it collapsed in 2023. But it meant that the future of 49 UK stores remained hanging in the balance while administrators looked for a buyer.
Alex Simpkin, CEO of CDS Superstores, said: “We’ve stepped in following the sad demise of the much-loved Homebase brand, which has had a long and previously successful history of helping UK households with their DIY projects and gardening needs, for over 45 years.”
The loss of the Homebase follows the closure of the Gloucester Dobbies, off junction 12 of the M5 near Stonehouse. This site will, however, reopen after being acquired by British Garden Centres.
Here’s the full list of confirmed Homebase stores shutting their doors in January :
Bradford
Broadstairs
Cheltenham
Colchester Stanway
Coventry
Derby Chaddesden
Gloucester
Hull Hessle
London Streatham Vale
Oban
Oldbury
Romford
Wolverhampton