Kingfisher offloads Russian chain in £73m deal
B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher has announced it has offloaded Castorama Russia to Russian home improvement firm Maxidom in a £73m deal.
Kingfisher, which has approximately 1,350 stores across eight European countries, said that the deal was closed on 30 September with 80% paid at the closing of the transaction.
It added that the remaining 20% is to be paid in equal instalments over two years.
Thierry Garnier, CEO of Kingfisher, said: “I am pleased to announce the completion of the sale of Castorama Russia to Maxidom. I would like to thank our Castorama Russia colleagues for their contribution to Kingfisher and wish them well for the future.”
The news comes a week after the company welcomed a “resilient” performance in the first-half of the year, with sales down by 1.1% to £5.9bn.
The group said this reflected the adverse impact of Covid-19 in Q1, which was later partially offset by “strong recovery” in the second quarter.
Pre-tax profit was up 23.1% to £415m, while e-commerce sales soared by 164%, and now account for 19% of total sales in the group.
The group attributed this to a DIY boom during lockdown, adding that the crisis is “creating new home improvement needs, as people seek new ways to use space or adjust to working from home”.
