Kingfisher agrees to return business rates relief in full

In a statement to the City, the B&Q owner said it would be returning approximately £130m to the government and that, as a result, its expected adjusted profits for the year would now include around £85m of non-recurring cost savings – down from £175m in previous guidance.

Kingfisher noted it had also repaid in full the £23m it had received from the government as part of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. 

The retailer noted that in the early months of the pandemic, despite being designated an essential retailer, it had taken the decision to close B&Q and Screwfix stores in the UK, which had a profound impact on sales.

However, since it began reopening stores in late April, Kingfisher said that sales had been robust due to “higher demand for home improvement across our markets”.

The DIY giant becomes the latest in a string of essential retailers choosing to repay business rates relief after supermarket giant Tesco first made the move last week. 

Tesco’s announcement has sparked something of a procession, with big-four grocery competitors Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons all following suit over the next 48 hours or so.

Discounters Aldi and Lidl and non-food essential retailers, such as B&M and Pets at Home, also last week made the decision to return the tax breaks offered to retailers by the government at the beginning of the pandemic. 

Between them all, essential retailers have agreed to return over £2bn in business rates relief. 

However, there are a number of essential businesses that have also either outright refused to return the relief or will wait until the end of the financial year to make a decision on reimbursing it. 

Waitrose and Poundland are among the former to have decided against returning it, while the Co-op are set to make a decision in March. 

Frozen-food specialist Iceland has yet to make a formal announcement one way or the other.