Homebase parent reveals plans to call time on its UK homewares trial format, closing all four HomeStore & More stores by the end of February.
The move will affect 135 employees at the HomeStore & More outlets in Cambridge, Abingdon, Aylesbury and Harlow, as well as those employed at the group's head office in Milton Keynes.

However, a spokesperson for the Home Retail Group told DIY Week that the group hopes to relocate a "good number" of employees at Homebase and Argos stores within the surrounding areas.

Explaining the reason behind the decision to close down the trial format, which was started in 2007, he said that it was, "of its time but didn't progress forward in the way that was hoped and the business moved on. The trial hadn't moved into profitability and we couldn't foresee that it was going to."

He added that Home Retail Group's recent acquisition of Habitat had provided "unexpected opportunities" and, with the ongoing development of key brands, such as Homebase, the parent firm "has moved on and things have changed".