HOMEBASE

Homebase is the UK’s second largest DIY retailer.

Homebase, part of Home Retail Group, the UK's leading home and general merchandise retailer. Home Retail Group was demerged from its parent company, GUS plc, on Tueday 10 October 2006. More information on Home Retail Group can be found on its corporate website, www.homeretailgroup.com

About Homebase

Homebase is the UK’s second largest home improvement retailer and is recognised for choice, style and customer service across the wider home enhancement market. It has more than 300 large, out-of-town stores throughout the UK and Republic of Ireland, and is planning to add to its store chain with around 15 new stores a year. It sells over 30,000 products across DIY and decorating, home and garden ranges, and has a growing internet offering. Homebase serves over 70 million customers per year through its stores and offers customers the convenience of home delivery for bulky, high-value items. Its Ideas magazine is the number one home interest magazine in the UK, with a circulation of almost half a million. In 2006 Homebase won 'Britain's Best Superstore Manager of the Year' at Britain's Best Retailer Awards and in 2005 it was awarded DIY Retailer of the Year in the National Home Awards. Homebase was the first UK DIY retailer to achieve Forest Stewardship Council Chain of Custody certification. More information on Homebase can be found on www.homeretailgroup.com

Gus - (formerly Great Universal Stores plc) - December 2002 saw the acquisition of Homebase, the UK's second largest home improvement retailer, which at that time operated from 272 stores. The acquisition expanded the combined product portfolio of Argos and Homebase and offered the opportunity to increase sales in common product areas such as indoor and outdoor furniture, housewares, gardening products and power tools. This overlap in products drove scale economies in merchandise buying and the benefit from significant synergies in operating the two businesses. The Homebase business also gave access to a different customer demographic than the one primarily served by Argos.

Homebase was sold to private equity firm Permira by its former owner, the supermarket chain J Sainsbury, in March 2001.

Homebase has three main supply depots in the UK. Octavian Park (Small parts) , Lydiard Fields (Large, Bulky items) and Park Farm (Furniture, plus other bulky items). There are also numerous other depots located in the UK for other stock items.

Homebase was founded by Sainsbury's supermarket chain and Belgian retailer GB-Inno-BM in 1979 as Sainsbury's Homebase, to bring supermarket-style outlay to the British DIY market. Its first store was in Croydon, opening on the Purley Way on 3 March 1981. Homebase was tripled in size in 1995 with the acquisition of the rival Texas Homecare from the Ladbroke Group plc. These stores were rebranded and redesigned to the Homebase format, the first to be converted being in Longwell Green in Bristol in February 1996 and the Last 60 Texas stores were converted to Homebase in 1999.

In October 1999 Sainsbury's bought Hampden Group plc, the franchisee of seven Homebase stores (former Texas stores) in Northern Ireland and three stores in the Republic of Ireland.