I went to the Homebase administration sale and found 3 surprising things

It’s always sad when another big high street name is put under threat – and Homebase is the latest retailer to announce it’s up against it in the wake of a bruising few years for traditional big box stores.

While I really hope every Homebase store can be saved and staff jobs will be rescued, where there’s a sale, there’s always a chance to grab a bargain, and as a Yorkshireman, I’m always the first one in the door when a liquidation/closing down sale/administration sell-off is announced.

I picked through the bones of Zavvi (remember them?), I visited Wilko’s final firesale, and today I went to investigate whether Homebase could offer any serious savings for savvy shoppers while its future hangs in the balance – and I found three surprising things.

First, there are discounts even on brand new, in-season items. Hot products for this time of year, like Christmas tree lights and Christmas decorations, are just 10 percent off, which isn’t worth rushing down for, but is worthwhile if you’re already there.

But the second surprise was the deep discounts on some genuinely valuable items. 

The discounts scale across different departments, from 10 percent on Christmas stock right the way up to 50 percent on a few summer products like solar lights.

But big ticket out-of-season products like gardening equipment and power tools offer the best savings.

It’s rare to see Flymo lawnmowers, Black and Decker hedge trimmers and other such power tools at 25 percent off, but there are deep discounts on these items so you can pick up a real bargain right now, put it away over winter and then enjoy your savings next year.

Other discounts I found included 15 percent off paint, including 10 percent off even posh paint brands like Farrow & Ball, and as much as 40 percent off furniture like sofas, seats and sofa beds, with one yellow sofa bed down from £250 to just £140, a 40 percent saving.

Homebase’s administrators have announced that 74 stores are ‘at risk’, but the business has since been bought out by retail group CDS, which owns The Range and the Wilko brand.

In its announcement, it said 1,600 employees and 70 jobs will be saved with the shops rebranding as The Range, but the future of the other 2,000 staff at other stores remains unclear.

The third and final surprise was that the store I went to – Moor Allerton, Leeds – is slated for closure in January, according to the staff member I asked. Whether that’s definitive, or could be changed, it’s not clear either, but it didn’t sound like great news for my local branch.

Whatever happens, it might be worth popping to your local Homebase for a bargain or two while you definitely still can.