Parent Travis Perkins hit by housing slump
Travis Perkins, owner of Wickes, cited a patchy home improvement market as it announced its half-year results yesterday, adding that trading conditions would remain challenging.

With consumers spending less on big-ticket items such as kitchens, Wickes, which was acquired by Travis Perkins for£950 million in February, reported turnover for the 26 weeks to June 26 down 1.7 per cent.

Like-for-like sales were down by 4.9 per cent for the period and 5.6 per cent since Travis Perkins' April annual general meeting.

However, Wickes's like-for-like performance shows an improving trend from the year low in February and it appears to be gaining market share from national competitors.

'The nearer you get to the consumer, the more difficult it is,' admitted Travis Perkins chief executive Geoff Cooper.

The addition of 172 Wickes stores has increased Travis Perkins' turnover by 41 per cent.

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