A MAJOR DIY chain has launched a huge closing down sale at several of its stores, which are set to close before Christmas.

Homebase is set to close six stores in December, and shoppers can now take advantage of discounts worth up to 60% at these shops.

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Stores in Sutton Coldfield, Bromsgrove, Cromer, Fareham, Newark and Rugby will also close over the busy festive period.

Shoppers visiting the affected stores can now get hefty discounts on everything from kitchens to furniture and homeware.

Shops are now brandishing huge “Store Closing. Everything Must Go” signs.

As far as discounts go, Homebase’s Bromsgrove store has slashed the price of new kitchens by 60%.

Shoppers can also get 40% off radiators and solar lighting and 25% off furniture, tiles and wallpaper.

All six stores listed above will close before Christmas in December, though exact dates have yet to be confirmed.

Three more Homebase sites in Derry/Londonderry, Inverurie, and Omagh are also set to close in the coming months, but Homebase hasn’t confirmed when this will occur.

All 10 stores were sold to Sainsbury’s after the company agreed to acquire them from the DIY chain in August.

Once all stores are closed, Sainsbury’s will convert the units into new supermarkets.

The conversion of these sites is anticipated to create approximately 1,000 new jobs.

The acquisition of the stores and refit programme to follow is expected to cost Sainsbury’s £130million.

Once they are converted, the shop floor area of the stores will range from approximately 15,000 to 40,000 square feet and will add a total of around 235,000 square feet to its supermarket trading space.

Sainsbury’s plans to open the first of these new stores by next summer, marking a significant expansion for the supermarket chain.

Simon Roberts, chief executive officer of Sainsbury’s, said last month: “Sainsbury’s food business continues to go from strength to strength as we push ahead with our Next Level Sainsbury’s plan.

“We have the best combination of value and quality in the market and that’s winning us customers from all our key competitors and driving consistent growth in volume market share.

“We want to build on this momentum, which is why we are growing our supermarket footprint.”

UP FOR SALE

The sale of these stores follows reports that Homebase’s owner is looking to sell the company. 

Hilco Capital, which purchased Homebase from Wesfarmers in 2018 for £1, was believed to have started a formal sale process after being approached by The Range.

Other retailers that have previously shown an interest in Homebase include B&M, the London-listed discount retailer.

It’s understood that this sale process is still ongoing.

Homebase currently operates around 144 locations across the UK.

The DIY chain was founded by the supermarket giant Sainsbury’s and Belgian retailer GB-Inno-BM in 1979.

The first store opened in Croydon in April 1981 and was located on the Purley Way.

The company steadily grew and, in 1989, opened its 50th store in Norwich.

By 1995, Homebase had 82 stores, and Sainsbury’s acquired 241 Texas Homecare stores, which were soon converted into the Homebase format.

Homebase then operated as a subsidiary under the Home Retail Group from October 2006 until 2016.

Australian retailer Wesfarmers and owner of the Bunnings brand purchased Homebase for £340million in February 2016.

However, by February 2018, Wesfarmers reported losses relating to the takeover of £57million in the year to June 2017, and soon decided to implement a review of the business.

In May 2018, Hilco bought the hardware store chain for just £1.

Prior to the Hilco takeover, Homebase had 250 stores at its peak and 11,500 staff.

However, the brand soon returned to profit after it entered a CVA agreement and restructured its business.

Homebase has closed 106 stores since it was taken over by Hilco Capital in 2018.

HOMEWARE CHAINS STRUGGLE

It has been a tricky time for home improvement chains, both large and small.

This is because shoppers have been cutting back on spending following the pandemic.

Plus, the recent turmoil in the housing market has meant that homeowners aren’t as focused on DIY projects as they once were.

In the spring, Kingfisher, which owns B&Q and Screwfix, revealed that annual profits had slumped by more than a quarter.

The company reported a 25.1% drop in underlying pre-tax profits to £568million for the year to January 31, 2024.

Window and door specialist Everest called in administrators in April, leaving customers in the dark about their orders.

Last year, the group had previously cautioned profits would slip after a 36% drop in pre-tax profits from £1billion to £611million in the 12 months to January 2023.

Rival Wickes also reported a 31% fall in profits to £52million on flat revenues of £1.55billion for 2023.

Windows and doors company Safestyle collapsed into administration in October last year.

The company has a manufacturing site in Wombwell, near Barnsley and 42 sales branches and depots across the country.

Flooring retailer Tapi recently struck a multimillion-pound rescue deal to save the Carpetright brand and dozens of stores in July.

Tapi purchased 54 of the chain’s stores and two warehouses in a pre-pack administration deal that saved 300 jobs.

However, the deal did not include 200 other stores which all closed their doors.

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Schroders Capital has received regulatory approval for a UK Wealth market focused Long-Term Asset Fund (LTAF).

The firm described the approval as a “significant milestone”.

The LTAF will be managed by Schroders Capital head of global private equity portfolios, Benjamin Alt.

The LTAF is a category of open-ended authorised fund designed to invest efficiently in long-term assets – with the first being launched in March 2023.

The Schroders Capital Wealth Solutions LTAF has been designed as an Open-Ended Investment Company (OEIC), allowing it to be made available to the UK Wealth market.

The fund is focused on small-mid market buyout and growth investments globally.

Earlier this month, Schroders Capital announced a market first after receiving approval for the first LTAF dedicated to UK venture capital.

Schroders director private markets James Lowe said: “This is a significant step forward; we believe that for the UK wealth community LTAFs will provide another access point to private markets and we expect this LTAF to be a complementary tool to existing private markets structures – like investment trusts – offering new flexibility in how UK investors will be able to meet their objectives via private market investments.”

Alt added: “We are now able to bring the best of our expertise in private equity to UK private clients in a UK approved structure.

“This means access to the most attractive segments of private equity markets globally through a well-established fund with a proven track record.

“Private equity enables investors to access different parts of the economic ecosystem, bringing the potential for robust investment performance and the benefits of diversification.”

In February 2024, Schroders Greencoat announced the launch of its Global Renewable+ LTAF.

The specialist renewables and energy transition infrastructure manager of Schroders Capital said this is the first LTAF exclusively dedicated to renewable energy and energy-transition infrastructure.

The fund will target infrastructure supporting energy transition across the UK, US and Europe and will “deploy capital across wind and solar assets, as well as a range of energy-transition assets including hydrogen, heating and storage”.

HOUSEHOLDS across the UK can challenge their council tax bands and potentially save thousands of pounds.

A Martin Lewis fan has explained how they managed to receive a refund worth £7,500 in this week’s MoneySavingExpert newsletter.

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They said: “Martin, we challenged our council tax band earlier in the year after watching your show and doing the relevant checks on your website. 

“Seven months later, it’s been confirmed we’ve gone from Band E to Band D. We’ve also received our refund of overpaid council tax, a whopping £7,500.”

With UK council tax on the rise, a quick and easy check online may reveal if you’re eligible for a significant refund, and lower future costs.

Properties across the UK are allocated a band from A to H and this decides how much council tax you pay.

The more expensive the property, the higher the council tax band.

However, these bands were created based on property values back in 1991, and many households may find that they should now be in a different band.

You could be on the wrong band if your council tax band is different to your neighbours.

If you challenge the band and are successful and moved to a lower band you could get a refund on incorrect payments from the date you moved to the property and pay less in council tax going forward.

More than one in four people who tried to change their band between 2023 to 2024 were successful, according to government figures.

However, there are also some risks involved with challenging your council tax that you should be aware of. 

While it is certainly possible you are on a council tax band that is too high, there is a risk you may also be a band too low. 

If you challenge your council tax band and are found out to be on too low of a band, you will be put on a higher band and required to pay more. 

This will not make you popular with your neighbours, as they will also be investigated and potentially moved up a band as well.

But don’t worry, there are a couple of ways you can work out if you’re on the wrong tax band before officially challenging. 

The first is by checking what band your neighbours are on. Compare your band with homes as similar as possible to yours.

The band of every property in England and Wales is available on tax.service.gov.uk/check-council-tax-band, and the band of every property in Scotland is available via the Scottish Assessors’ Association.

Similar or identical houses in the same neighbourhood should be on the same council tax band.

A follow-up method is through a valuation check. You will need to work out what your home was worth in 1991, which is when council tax bands were defined.

When doing this, it is also worth checking your neighbouring properties prices in the same year to avoid any anomalies. 

You can find historical sales price information on sites such as Nethouseprices, Zoopla and Rightmove, as well as gov.uk/search-house-prices.

When you know what your home was valued at in 1991, you can compare to the tables below and check it was placed in the right band at the time.

England:

A – All properties under £40,000

B – £40,001 to £52,000

C – 52,001 to £68,000

D – £68,001 to £88,000

E –  £88,001 to £120,000

F – £120,001 to £160,000

G – £160,001 to £320,000

H – Over £320,000

Scotland:

A – All properties under £27,000

B – £27,001 to £35,000

C – £35,001 to £45,000

D – £45,001 to £58,000

E – £58,001 to £80,000

F – £80,001 to £106,000

G – £106,001 to £212,000

H – Over £212,000

How to challenge your council tax band

If you think your council tax band is wrong, you could be paying more than you should. Here’s how to challenge it.

In England or Wales head to Gov.uk and contact the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) or in Scotland use the Scottish Assessors Association .

You’ll be asked for evidence that your Council Tax band is wrong and need to give the information when you challenge.

Or, simply pop your postcode onto into the online tool at tax.service.gov.uk, select your address, and follow the link to see if you have grounds to challenge your band. You’ll be guided through a checklist to help make your case.

Your local assessor will get in touch to review your case.

What are the possible outcomes?

The first potential outcome is that you get told you cannot challenge, but don’t be put off by this. 

Technically speaking, you can only formally challenge your council tax band if you’ve lived in the property for six months or less.

But, Martin Lewis recommends still contacting the VOA with evidence of why you think your band should be changed, and it should decide if it’s enough to review your case.

The second outcome is that your challenge gets rejected. If you think this is the wrong decision, you have three months to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal. 

For those in Scotland, if you’re formally able to challenge your band, but the challenge can not be resolved by your local assessor within six months, the dispute will then be referred to the Valuation Appeal Committee.

The final outcome is that your challenge gets accepted. You can expect to see your band lowered, and make sure you get a rebate from when you moved into the property, or 1993, whichever is later.

How much can you expect to save on council tax?

If you do succeed in getting your band lowered, then typically you can expect to pay between £100 and £400 less in council tax per year.

You should also expect a refund that will cover all the years you have been overpaying, backdated to when you first moved into the property. 

Or as far back as when the tax first started in 1993. Backed payments can be worth in the thousands.

LOCAL authorities can offer you a discount or wipe your bill completely depending on your circumstances through council tax support.

You can get a 25% discount on your council tax if you are the only person living in the home or if you live with other people who are classed as “disregarded”.

Someone is classed as disregarded if they are severely mentally impaired, a carer, in hospital, a care home or hostel, has another main residence, or is a student, youth trainee or apprentice.

For example, if one single adult lives with a student, they can get 25% off their council tax.

If you live with someone who doesn’t have to pay council tax, such as a carer, you could get a reduction of up to 50% too.

And, if you live in an all-student household you can get a 100% discount.

Pensioners can also get a council tax discount, including those on the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit who can get 100% off.

If not, you could still get help if you have a low income and less than £16,000 in savings.

Meanwhile, a pensioner who lives alone also qualifies for a 25% discount.

Low-income households or those on benefits can also apply for a reduction on their council tax.

Whether you are eligible depends on where you live.

You could also get a deferral if you’re struggling to pay your bill, or you can speak to your council about setting up a payment plan to manage the cost.

Always remember though, if you are struggling you should contact your council as early as possible.

That will avoid your situation deteriorating and landing you in trouble.

CELEBRITY interior designer Celia Sawyer has won her planning dispute over a luxury sunroom she built without permission in the garden of her Sandbanks home.

The star of Channel 4’s Four Rooms had the glass-walled building with a retractable roof installed in 2020.

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The sunroom backs on to Poole Harbour and even has a small sandy ‘beach’ in front of it with sunbeds on.

Mrs Sawyer, known as Mrs Bling, has regularly posted pictures on Instagram of herself lounging in the 21ft by 15ft room wearing a bikini or thigh-splitting skirts.

Last year the 58-year-old became embroiled in a row with nextdoor neighbour Neil Kennedy over a first floor balcony he had built without planning permission.

She claimed that it breached her privacy as he was able to look down to the bottom of her garden where she sunbathes.

Mrs Sawyer and her husband Nick lost out in the dispute when BCP Council granted Mr Kennedy retrospective planning permission that allowed him to keep his balcony and other alterations he had done.

Afterwards the council received an anonymous tip-off informing them that Mrs Sawyer’s sunroom had been built without permission.

Officials contacted her and told her she had to submit a retrospective planning application for it.

She faced having to tear it down if it was rejected.

A council case officer has now granted her planning approval saying they were satisfied the building did not cause any harm to the area.

Planning officer Emma Woods said the sunroom wasn’t visible from the street and can only be seen from the water and neighbouring properties.

She said the sunroom is “open in nature” and “does not appear at odds with its surroundings” pointing out that many waterside properties have outbuildings like boat houses.

She noted it is about 3ft from Mr Kennedy’s property but it is not overbearing due to its modest height and open nature.

She said: “The design retains a sense of openness and is considered to fit comfortably with the established character and appearance of this stretch of the shoreline.

“Overall it is considered that the development respects the amenities and privacy of the occupants of the neighbouring properties.”

The council only received one representation from a neighbour who said the sunroom was well designed and made a positive contribution to this part of the harbour.

Mrs Sawyer was granted the retrospective planning application with condition that the sunroom must not be used for habitable accommodation.

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