The future of DIY giant Homebase’s Kent stores hang in the balance after it slumped into administration.

The home and garden chain - which has shops in Sittingbourne, Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks, Aylesford, Thanet, Chatham, Folkestone and Herne Bay - confirmed this afternoon it had appointed Teneo Financial Advisory as administrators following widespread speculation it was to make the move this morning.

However, a deal has been struck for 70 of its stores - along with its brand name - to be sold to retail magnate Chris Dawson’s CDS (Superstores International) which owns The Range and came to a similiar deal following the collapse of Wilko. It is not yet known if the location of the stores - and some 1,600 jobs - include those in the county.

Homebase - which has been seeking a new buyer after reporting an £84.2 million loss last year - has some 130 outlets nationwide. It leaves a cloud hanging over the remaining 2,000 staff it currently employs.

All stores will continue to trade as administrators move in to take control of the company.

Damian McGloughlin, CEO of Homebase, explained: “It has been an incredibly challenging three years for the home and garden improvement market. A decline in consumer confidence and spending following the pandemic has been exacerbated by the impact of persistent high inflation, global supply chain issues and unseasonable weather.

“Against this backdrop, we have taken many and wide-ranging actions to improve trading performance including restructuring the business and seeking fresh investment. These efforts have not been successful and today we have made the difficult decision to appoint administrators.

Teneo added there will be no immediate redundancies while administrators “urgently assess the position” of the retailer. It added customer orders will still be fulfilled “as far as possible” and that “arrangement will be put in place to allow gift vouchers to be used”.

In August, Sainsbury’s struck a deal to buy 11 Homebase stores and convert them into supermarkets - and has exchanged on a further three. Sainsbury’s was the retailer’s original owner - launching the brand in 1981 - before selling it in 2000 to venture capitalists for £969m.

It is certainly no stranger to problems in the recent past. In 2016, it was sold to Australian giant Wesfarmers in a deal worth £340m. But almost as soon as many saw their branding changed to the Aussie firm’s Bunnings, it saw a dramatic drop off in customers.

By 2018, it was sold to Hilco Capital - specialists in turning around troubled businesses for just £1 and returned to its original Homebase name.

Damian McGloughlin, CEO of Homebase, added: “My priority is and continues to be our team members, and I recognise that this news will be unsettling for them. The sale of up to 70 UK stores to CDS is expected to protect up to 1,600 jobs and the remaining 49 UK stores will continue to trade as normal while the administrators complete discussions with potential buyers. I want to thank our team members and supplier partners from the bottom of my heart for their hard work and commitment over many years.”

Gavin Maher, joint administrator, concluded: “We appreciate that this is a very difficult and uncertain time for all involved. The sale to CDS preserves the Homebase brand and secures a significant number of jobs and we hope to complete sales of additional stores over the coming weeks.

“The remainder of the stores will continue to trade whilst buyers are sought and we would encourage any party with an interest to get in touch. We thank Homebase’s team members and other stakeholders for their continued support.”