Homebase has revealed that the recovery in the London housing market has helped its profits jump more than 70% as new home owners snap up kitchens, bathrooms and furniture.
John Walden, chief executive of parent company Home Retail Group, said: “In the second half of the financial year, we certainly saw sales driven from housing, especially in London and the South-East. However, this isn’t the entire picture and some parts of the UK are not seeing a housing recovery.”
The boss, who recently replaced long-serving chief executive Terry Duddy, added that usually any figures that show mortgage approvals rising take about six months to filter through to retailers.
He said the company’s other business, Argos, will launch concession branches in about 20 Homebase stores, merging the two brands for the first time.
Sales for the year to the beginning of March rose to £5.7 billion from £5.5 billion, with underlying pre-tax profits up 27% to £115.4 million. However, the business was hit with a £40 million payment because of PPI and warranty mis-selling.
