A retail tycoon dubbed the ‘Del Boy Billionaire’ has swooped in to save troubled DIY chain Homebase in a move securing up to 1,600 jobs and 70 stores. The deal by Chris Dawson, whose company CDS Superstores acts as parent company to The Range, was confirmed this afternoon by administrator Teneo.
But around 2,000 workers and 49 Homebase shops still remain at risk. Mr Dawson pulled a similar move last September after agreeing to buy the Wilko name, website and intellectual property – entitling him to use the Wilko brand as he sees fit – for £5million after the British homeware chain collapsed.
News of the deal came just hours after Homebase owners Hilco, who bought the firm for a token £1 in 2018, announced this morning it was appointing insolvency experts after reporting an £84.2 million loss last year.
Mr Dawson, 71, is now at the helm of 213 chains nationwide and visits ten per day in his personalised helicopter. He was dubbed the ‘Del Boy Billionaire’ due to his distinctive DE11 BOY number plate on his £350,000 Rolls-Royce Wraith coupe.
The entire senior management team was fired, and Wesfarmers tried to lump Brits with Australian sales tactics – including selling barbeques in winter. A consignment of mole traps was also sent to Ireland for sale – despite the country having no moles.
The firm lost £420m under Wesfarmers’ ownership after posting a £24m operating profit the year before it was bought over. Wesfarmers, humiliated, sold it to current owners Hilco for just £1.
Homebase saviour Mr Dawson resides at number 70 on the Sunday Times Rich List – and lives in Monaco. He was dubbed the ‘Del Boy Billionaire’ due to his distinctive DE11 BOY number plate on his £350,000 Rolls-Royce Wraith coupe.
He makes no secret of his unabashed desire to be rich, once telling the Mail that as each person comes into his shop he thinks ‘kerching, kerching, kerching!’
His humble beginnings saw him and his two brothers raised on a council estate in Plymouth, with their labourer father Thomas and his cleaner mother, Elsie. Prospects were bleak – his younger brother still lives in the same house – and money was so sparse that he claims he did not own his first pair of pants until he was 12.
As a boy, he struggled academically and was so severely dyslexic that he left school without a single qualification, unable to read and write. But dyslexia did not stymie a budding business brain: he began selling ice-creams at the age of seven, before taking on three paper rounds – two of which he subcontracted to friends.
He also earned money by doing early-morning wake-up calls for military officers in his garrison home town of Plymouth and began selling teas to builders on construction sites at the age of 14. He later embarked on a career as a scrap metal dealer, ‘borrowing’ leftover scraps from his school technology class.
He is a self-confessed workaholic, sleeping only six hours per day and admitting he does nothing to relax, except work. He reportedly does not have a work email and instead communicates with employees in a regular early-morning conference calls, ensuring he is physically and metaphorically everywhere in the business at all times.
In 2015 he was said to have left grieving relatives ‘distraught’ after his car blocked a body from being taken into a funeral home. The deceased’s body had just been collected from hospital and driven to an undertakers in Plymouth, Devon. But when the private ambulance arrived a Range Rover belonging to Mr Dawson was discovered parked outside the clearly marked entrance meaning the ambulance couldn’t be reversed in.
The Range later ‘apologised for any inconvenience’ the vehicle had caused.
In August, Sainsbury’s agreed to acquire 10 Homebase stores and convert them into supermarkets in a deal which is anticipated to create around 1,000 new jobs. The locations set for conversion are located in Sutton Coldfield, Bromsgrove, Cromer, Derry/Londonderry, Fareham, Inverurie, Lowestoft, Newark, Omagh and Rugby.
The deal will see Homebase subjected to a ‘pre-pack’ administration sale that sees the firm’s assets bundled up and purchased by another company, which could save some stores and jobs. Speaking today, Homebase boss Damian McGloughlin said the last three years had been ‘incredibly challenging’ for DIY stores, blaming ‘a decline in consumer confidence and spending’ after the pandemic.
Analysts suggest Homebase may have run into trouble because of high borrowing costs – stopping homeowners from investing in improvements to their properties. Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: ‘It’s been tough going in the home renovation market, as consumers have tightened their belts amid high borrowing costs. Even though interest rates have begun to come down, homeowners have been ultra cautious, with bigger ticket items hard to shift.’
Some have been resurrected as online brands, or have drastically slimmed down to just a handful of stores where there was once an empire of hundreds. Sainsbury’s agreed to acquire 10 Homebase shops and convert them into supermarkets earlier this year in a deal creating 1,000 jobs.
The threat facing the retail giant came as Britain’s high street continues to suffer after beloved brands including BHS, Wilko, Debenhams, The Body Shop and CarpetRight ran into financial trouble. Some have been resurrected as online brands, or have drastically slimmed down to just a handful of stores where there was once an empire of hundreds.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the deal by Chris Dawson to save Homebase is a significant move that will secure up to 1,600 jobs and 70 stores. The retail tycoon has a reputation for turning around struggling businesses, and his latest move is expected to bring stability to the DIY chain.
FAQs:
Q: Who is Chris Dawson?
A: Chris Dawson is a retail tycoon known as the ‘Del Boy Billionaire’ due to his distinctive DE11 BOY number plate on his £350,000 Rolls-Royce Wraith coupe.
Q: What is the deal with Homebase?
A: The deal sees Homebase subjected to a ‘pre-pack’ administration sale that sees the firm’s assets bundled up and purchased by another company, which could save some stores and jobs.
Q: How many jobs will be saved?
A: Up to 1,600 jobs will be saved as part of the deal.
Q: How many stores will be saved?
A: 70 stores will be saved as part of the deal.
Q: Who is Damian McGloughlin?
A: Damian McGloughlin is the managing director of Homebase.
Q: What is the reason for Homebase’s struggles?
A: Homebase’s struggles are attributed to a decline in consumer confidence and spending after the pandemic, as well as high borrowing costs stopping homeowners from investing in improvements to their properties.
About The Author
