B&Q stores to close

Around 60 B&Q stores in UK and Ireland are to close over the next two years.

Kingfisher, the owner of DIY chains B&Q and Screwfix, said in a statement: "Kingfisher has said for some time that B&Q UK & Ireland can adequately meet local customer needs from fewer stores and that some of the store should be smaller."

Veronique Laury, chief executive, said it was "clear" the firm needed to organise itself "very differently to unlock our potential", and described the move as part of a set of "first sharp decisions" she was taking.

She said "significant benefits" could be achieved from unifying the group, noting that "customers needs are already largely the same" with the markets it serves "fundamentally more similar than different".

B&Q said top executives' roles would now be more focused on the entire company, it would cut the number of products it sold, as well as unifying its IT platform across the group.