STAFF at Dorset’s five Homebase stores are waiting to hear how they will be affected by an announcement that a quarter of branches are to close.

A review by parent company Home Retail Group found is sector of the retail market was being squeezed by the rise of a generation “less skilled in DIY projects”.

The company, which also owns Argos, said the number of stores would fall by around 25 per cent from the current 323 – a loss of around 80 in the period up to early 2018. Thirty are already set to be shut in the current financial year.

There are Homebase branches at Mallard Road, Bournemouth; the Redlands retail park in Branksome; Bailey Drive, Christchurch; Tower Park, Poole; and Stour Park, Blandford.

Earlier this year, it was announced that the Branksome Homebase store had been chosen as one of 20 to feature a new Argos concession, focused on allowing Argos customers to collect their internet orders.

A statement said Homebase to “right-size the store estate through scheduled lease expiries and a series of sales to other retailers”.

It added: “Once they are identified, our colleagues will be the first to be informed about any of the affected stores, and where possible we will redeploy colleagues to other stores within the group, or encourage retailers buying our leases to offer roles within their businesses locally.

“These changes are necessary to make Homebase a stronger business for the future.”

The company also announced it was parting company with its managing director, Paul Loft, as it revealed a 13 per cent rise in its headline ‘benchmark’ pre-tax profit to £30.9m for the half-year to August 30. Pre-tax profit fell five per cent to £13.5m after taking into account costs of a plan to transform Argos plus the effect on the bottom line of property provisions and currency movements.

The review found Homebase was saddled with "inconsistent store operating standards" as well as "a large estate with low sales densities that result in a challenged financial model".

Group chief executive John Walden said: "Homebase delivered a good peak trading period, performing well throughout the half despite being up against the tough comparators of a strong second quarter last year.”