Marks & Spencer (M&S) and the owner of B&Q have expressed an interest in taking over dozens of stores operated by Homebase, the DIY chain which fell into administration this month.
Sky News has learnt M&S and Kingfisher are among the retailers which are circling the remaining Homebase estate of close to 50 outlets, ahead of a deadline for offers on Friday.
The two companies are said to be preparing offers for between 20 and 25 sites, raising the possibility that hundreds of jobs can be saved.
Money latest: The most and least affordable towns to buy a home
Roughly 2,000 jobs were put at risk by Homebase’s collapse, with administrators said to have been working hard over the last fortnight to rescue as many as possible.
Property industry sources said Home Bargains, the privately owned homewares retailer, was also in the mix to acquire a small number of Homebase sites.
About 70 of the DIY chain’s stores, along with its brand and e-commerce operation, were sold to the owner of The Range in a pre-pack deal.
Latest sign of struggling industry as car production falls for eighth month in a row – SMMT
Money blog: Spain hands huge fines to easyJet and Ryanair for hand luggage and seat reservation charges
Direct Line shares soar as it rejects UK rival’s £3.3bn takeover offer
The Range, founded by Chris Dawson, has also taken on around 1,600 Homebase employees.
Teneo had been running a sale process for Homebase prior to its appointment as administrator.
Read more from Sky News:
Direct Line shares soar as it rejects UK rival’s takeover offer
Latest sign of struggling car industry as production falls again
‘Name and shame’ compromise by City watchdog
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
The process comes at a time when retailers are facing intensifying cost pressures in the wake of the Budget, with Kingfisher and M&S warning about the impact in recent weeks.
M&S and Kingfisher declined to comment.
