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Wickes Group plc is a British
home improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating, making improvements or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electr ...
retailer. It is the second largest home improvement retailer in the United Kingdom, behind B&Q. Whilst open to the general public, its sales of supplies and materials are predominantly orientated towards tradespeople. It is a specialist of kitchen and bathroom installations, with display showrooms at its locations. In April 2021, it was spun-off from
Travis Perkins Travis Perkins plc is a British builders' merchant and home improvement retailer with head offices based in Northampton. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. Through its Toolstation subsidiary, ...
, and then re-listed on the
London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...
.


History

In 1972, the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
–based Wickes Companies, whose operations included a chain of lumberyards, teamed with British builders merchant ''Sankeys'' to open the first Wickes store in the United Kingdom. By 1987, Wickes was trading from 41 locations, and was floated on the
London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...
under the leadership of CEO, Henry Sweetbaum. Serious accounting irregularities, involving the overstatement of profits, were uncovered in June 1996. In November 1996,
Bill Grimsey William Grimsey (born 21 January 1952 in Kensington, London) is an English businessman who has specialised in the food and DIY sectors, most notably at Wickes, Iceland, and Focus (DIY). Early career Grimsey left school at 15 to become a butche ...
was appointed CEO, to oversee its recovery from the accounting scandal, that saw its share price suspended and the banks foreclosing. In January 1997, Grimsey launched a rights issue, started an employee share scheme, and turned around the company's image. In September 2000, Wickes was purchased by
Focus Group A focus group is a group interview involving a small number (sometimes up to ten) of demographically predefined participants. Their reactions to specific researcher/evaluator-posed questions are studied. Focus groups are used in market researc ...
, with backing from
Duke Street Capital Duke Street Capital is a private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout and growth capital investments in middle-market companies in Western Europe, particularly the UK and France. Duke Street invests across four sectors: consumer, healthcare, ...
. This deal eventually made Focus Group the UK's second largest home improvement retailer, behind B&Q. Thirty-six Focus stores were rebranded to Focus DIY, growing Wickes from 131 stores in October 2000 to 172 in March 2004. In December 2004, Focus Group sold Wickes to
Travis Perkins Travis Perkins plc is a British builders' merchant and home improvement retailer with head offices based in Northampton. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. Through its Toolstation subsidiary, ...
. The sale was completed in February 2005. Wickes acquired seven stores from a struggling Focus DIY in October 2007, after
Cerberus Capital Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is an American global alternative investment firm with assets across credit, private equity, and real estate strategies.Leaders Magazine"Providing Economic Opportunity: An Interview with The Honorable Dan Quayl ...
took it over in June 2007 for £1; these stores were in
Glossop Glossop is a market town in the borough of High Peak (borough), High Peak, Derbyshire, England, east of Manchester, north-west of Sheffield and north of Matlock, Derbyshire, Matlock. Near Derbyshire's borders with Cheshire, Greater Mancheste ...
,
Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...
, Penrith,
Bulwell Bulwell is a market town and former civil parish in the Nottingham district, in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England. It is south-west of Hucknall and to the north-west of Nottingham. The United Kingdom Census 2011 recorded the p ...
,
Plumstead Plumstead is an area in southeast London, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich, England. It is located east of Woolwich. History Plumstead has been settled since ancient times, and London's earliest timber structure has been found here. ...
,
Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...
and
Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...
. In December 1996, the management of Wickes decided to cut back its operations in France, Belgium and the Netherlands and to concentrate solely on its operations in the United Kingdom. All mainland operations in Europe were sold to the French do it yourself chain, Bricorama, in June 1997. The company's joint venture in South Africa ended in February 1997. In May 2011, it was announced that Wickes had purchased thirteen stores from the appointed administrators of Focus DIY,
Ernst & Young EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services partnership, network based in London, United Kingdom. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, it is one of the Big Four accounting firms, Big F ...
, saving 345 jobs. By 2017, the company had over two hundred stores in the United Kingdom. The company had entered into a franchise agreement for the Wickes brand to be operated in Ireland by a subsidiary of Moritz Holdings, an Irish developer. The first store opened in
Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...
. Moritz had planned to open fifteen stores within five years, but initial plans for a €30million expansion were later put on hold, pending an assessment of market conditions, in April 2009. The franchise relationship ended in February 2013, with the store closed down, and the liquidator was "denied access" to the store. In May 2018,
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reported that Wickes planned to cut a third of its head office workforce in a bid to reduce costs. Parent company
Travis Perkins Travis Perkins plc is a British builders' merchant and home improvement retailer with head offices based in Northampton. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. Through its Toolstation subsidiary, ...
said the cuts would affect workers in Watford, Hertfordshire, where it employed three hundred people. In July 2019, along with reports of sales being up 9.7%, the parent company of Wickes,
Travis Perkins Travis Perkins plc is a British builders' merchant and home improvement retailer with head offices based in Northampton. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. Through its Toolstation subsidiary, ...
, announced plans to action a
demerger A demerger is a form of corporate restructuring in which the entity's business operations are segregated into one or more components. It is the converse of a Mergers and acquisitions, merger or acquisition. A demerger can take place through a cor ...
and spin off Wickes, quoting Wickes "is well positioned to thrive as a stand alone business" and "will have the autonomy to execute on its strategy and allocate capital to its customer proposition and growth opportunities with a clearer focus." In April 2021, it was confirmed that Wickes would be demerged from Travis Perkins by the end of the month. The
demerger A demerger is a form of corporate restructuring in which the entity's business operations are segregated into one or more components. It is the converse of a Mergers and acquisitions, merger or acquisition. A demerger can take place through a cor ...
was completed on 28 April 2021, with Wickes Group plc launching on the London Stock Exchange. In June 2023, Wickes' ex-Chief Operating Officer Fraser Longden caused controversy by labelling some customers "bigots" over their perceived attitudes to the trans movement. The company has supported various LGBTQ+ events.


References


External links

* {{official website, http://www.wickes.co.uk/ Retail companies established in 1854 Home improvement companies of the United Kingdom 1854 establishments in England 2000 mergers and acquisitions 2004 mergers and acquisitions Companies in the FTSE SmallCap Index