Anxious wait for staff at Queensferry B&Q as parent company looks to close 60 stores

Staff at B&Q in Queensferry face an uncertain future after parent company Kingfisher announced it is to close 60 of its stores in the UK and Ireland over the next two years.

Kingfisher, which currently has 360 B&Q stores, has confirmed today the locations of the first six stores to close: Southampton, Dundee, Baums Lane in Mansfield, Station Road in Stechford in Birmingham, Hyde in Greater Manchester, and Barnsley.

There are five B&Q stores in north Wales under threat including; Queensferry, Wrexham, Rhyl, Bangor and Llandudno as well as one on Sealand Road in Chester.

The closures of the 60 stores will be on a rolling basis however, Kingfisher plans to open 60 new outlets under its Screwfix brand.

The announcement came after the parent company announced a 7.5% drop in annual profits to £675 million.

The group also pulled out of a planned €275m purchase of DIY chain Mr Bricolage after shareholders of the French company opposed the deal.

Chief executive Veronique Laury, said the planned closures are one of a number of “sharp” decisions being taken by the company.

She added;

“Home improvement is a great market with huge potential and Kingfisher has a strong position within it with further scope to grow in a sustainable way.

“However, it is clear to me that we need to organise ourselves very differently to unlock our potential.”

City investors have welcomed the turnaround plans outlined in today’s announcement with shares opening up 4% higher than the previous day.