A closing down sale has begun at Homebase in Letterkenny after its parent company, HHGL, was appointed provisional liquidators in Ireland.
Homebase in Letterkenny is one of 74 stores that went up for sale last month in a last-ditch effort to save branches and jobs.
The future of the Letterkenny shore remains uncertain as it continues to trade alongside the seven other Irish branches of the DIY chain.
It’s reported that The Range made an offer for certain Irish assets of HHGL, including stores in Sligo and Nutgrove in Dublin, which was approved by the High Court.
The Range has already bought up 70 stores from Homebase in the UK.
“At this time, the Homebase stores continue to trade in Provisional Liquidation whilst the Joint Provisional Liquidators consider options for the business,” said the joint provisional liquidators at Teneo Financial Advisory.
The Irish arm of HHGL employs 178 workers across its eight Irish stores.
Meanwhile, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) is taking action to ensure consumers are protected and their rights upheld during the Homebase closures in Ireland.
The CCPC has been dealing with reports of unfulfilled orders and confusion around consumer rights.
Homebase liquidators have confirmed that stores will continue to accept gift vouchers during the provisional liquidation phase and the UK administrators have committed to the liquidators to honour outstanding orders.
CCPC Chair Brian McHugh said, “Consumer calls and emails to our helpline raised concerns for CCPC consumer protection officers. We contacted Homebase’s liquidators late last week to ensure consumers continue to be protected while stores are operating.”
The CCPC is advising any consumers who have vouchers for Homebase to use them this weekend or risk being left out of pocket. Meanwhile, consumers who have outstanding orders for kitchens and other installations should be contacted by Homebase early next week.
The liquidators have advised the CCPC that, “…the UK Administrators will shortly give instructions to Homebase employees and logistics partners to commence the process of booking in delivery slots for certain kitchen orders. These employees will have specific details of orders, any elements that cannot be fulfilled and alternative arrangements for any parts which are currently unavailable…[W]e expect customers will begin to receive calls from Monday 2 December 2024 in respect of their orders.”
Teneo declined to comment when contacted by Donegal Daily.
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