FTSE 100 retailer Kingfisher is seeking to sell six B&Q stores in an effort to raise cash to fund chief executive Veronique Laury’s costly turnaround plan.
Kingfisher is understood to be attempting to raise £125m by selling and leasing back B&Q stores in Birmingham, Croydon, Southampton and Cardiff, plus two in the northeast of England.
Laury’s effort to overhaul product ranges so the company sells more of the same DIY wares across its stores in the UK, France and Poland has led to a build-up of inventory as old ranges are cleared out.
That has contributed to a sharp fall in Kingfisher’s net cash position, down to £99m from £650m last year.
