DIY retailer Homebase is understood to be poised to announce a reorganisation of its head office that could lead to job cuts.

The retailer told staff to be prepared for an internal briefing on the changes today, according to the Daily Telegraph.

It is expected to streamline and reconfigure its operations to help it cope with the difficult trading environment, which is expected to last another year.

Last month, Homebase owner Home Retail Group said it would cut costs and improve efficiencies to help mitigate sales slowdown.

Meanwhile, Ian Cheshire, chief executive of Kingfisher, parent company of rival DIY group B&Q, said there will be no growth in the UK market over the next year. But he said B&Q can gain market share from struggling rivals.

He said there was opportunity to take advantage of weaker players such as MFI and Floors 2 Go, both of which have closed stores.

“If you lose 90 MFI stores, that’s about 5 per cent to 7 per cent of the kitchen market in the UK. That’s got to be an opportunity for us. We are going to be pretty proactive and we’re being reasonably aggressive in some of those markets,” he said.

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