Travis Perkins returns furlough cash following DIY boom
Travis Perkins has announced it will return business rates relief and furlough cash for its Wickes and Toolstation brands, as the company continued to see a strong demand for DIY during the pandemic.
The Northampton-headquartered firm said this morning that the repayment of government assistance totalled £50m.
“Given the status of Wickes as an essential retailer, and Toolstation also benefiting from the surge in DIY trade during 2020, both businesses will return the business rates relief received as a result of the Covid-19 crisis and repay monies received under the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme,” the group said in a statement.
Travis Perkins said it will reduce its forecast for group adjusted earnings for 2020 as a result.
The FTSE 250-listed firm continued to recover from the initial fallout from the coronavirus crisis, reporting an 8.6 per cent jump in like-for-like sales in October and November.
However, total group sales slipped 3.3 per cent, after the firm was forced to shutter branches over the summer.
“There continues to be strong demand across the DIY market, resulting in particularly strong sales in Wickes and Toolstation,” Travis Perkins said it a statement.
It comes after the group in June announced it would cut around 2,500 jobs — around nine per cent of its workforce — over expectations that a UK recession would hit demand for building materials over the next two years.
The UK’s biggest building merchant said it had started a consultation process with staff at about 165 branches, about eight per cent of its network.
The group’s sales volumes plunged 40 per cent in May, but recovered to about 85 to 90 per cent of last year’s levels over the summer as more branches reopened.
Travis Perkins raised £250m via a long five-year public bond issuance at a coupon of 3.75 per cent in November. The proceeds will be used to repay its 2021 bond maturity before the end of December.