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Homebase Collapse Reveals £803m Liabilities and Tiny Payout for Unsecured Creditors

The administrators' June 2026 report shows secured lenders recovered most sale proceeds, leaving only about £800,000 for all unsecured claimants ahead of a promised November update.

Overview

  • The administrators' report, published in June 2026, discloses Homebase entered administration with total liabilities of £803 million and about 2,300 jobs lost after the business was carved up.
  • In November 2024 CDS (owned by Chris Dawson) bought 70 stores and the Homebase intellectual property for £25.6 million and 1,150 employees transferred to the buyer while the remaining stores stopped trading in March 2025.
  • Administrators recorded 1,299 unsecured creditor claims totalling £693 million, including a single £523 million claim from Ark Finco, and say unsecured creditors will only share a prescribed‑part fund of roughly £800,000.
  • Secured creditors recovered most of the available cash: Wells Fargo’s £20.1 million claim was repaid in full and Ark Finco has received about £57.5 million so far, while HMRC lodged a £10.2 million PAYE and NIC claim.
  • Teneo says the collapse followed a drop in post‑pandemic DIY demand combined with high inflation, higher interest rates, freight costs and poor weather, and it will publish a further update before the administration ends in November 2026.