Home Retail Group mulls Homebase spinoff

MILTON KEYNES, England — Home Retail Group is considering spinning off its Homebase DIY banner in order to focus its energies on the thriving Argos unit, according to the Financial Mail. Long viewed as the weakest of Britain’s DIY players, it pulled in a modest £10 million in profits over the last year. Argos enjoyed a turnaround during its two years with John Walden at the helm. Rewarded with promotion to group chief executive, Walden is trying to extend his success at Argos to Home Retail as a whole, and the review of Homebase comes as part of his strategic review of profitability.