A CLOSING DOWN sale sign has now been spotted at the Homebase in Stroud as its future hangs in the balance. 

Troubled DIY and garden chain Homebase was waiting on around £5 million of tax rebates before collapsing into administration two weeks ago. 

It comes as the stricken firm has set a deadline of the end of next week for potential buyers to snap up its remaining shops in the UK and Ireland.

Homebase appointed administrators at consultancy Teneo after it was hit hard by an “incredibly challenging” three years for the DIY sector.

Administrators struck a deal to sell the business to retail group CDS, which owns The Range and Wilko, securing the future of up to 1,600 jobs and 70 stores.

Administrators have now placed 74 leasehold Homebase stores on the market, although the Stroud branch is not one of those. 

The future of 2,000 other workers and its remaining stores was left hanging in the balance.

Damian McGloughlin, CEO of Homebase, said: “It has been an incredibly challenging three years for the home and garden improvement market.

"A decline in consumer confidence and spending following the pandemic has been exacerbated by the impact of persistent high inflation, global supply chain issues and unseasonable weather.

"Against this backdrop, we have taken many and wide-ranging actions to improve trading performance including restructuring the business and seeking fresh investment.

"These efforts have not been successful and we made the difficult decision to appoint administrators.

“My priority is and continues to be our team members, and I recognise that this news will be unsettling for them.

"The sale of up to 70 UK stores to CDS is expected to protect up to 1,600 jobs and the remaining 49 UK stores will continue to trade as normal while the administrators complete discussions with potential buyers.

"I want to thank our team members and supplier partners from the bottom of my heart for their hard work and commitment over many years.”