B&Q owner Kingfisher has reported a dip in sales over recent months as the delayed onset of spring weather held back spending and bigger purchases remained subdued.

The DIY giant, which also owns Screwfix, said total sales declined by 0.9 per cent to £3.3 billion between February and April, compared like-for-like with the same period last year.

The business said it was “mindful of the consumer environment” but hailed a “resilient” start to the year.

The homeware giant revealed plans to cut more than 650 jobs across the UK last year, a move the company insists the move is about “simplifying” how its shops are run.

The company has stores in Oxford, Abingdon, Witney and Banbury.

In the UK and Ireland, sales at B&Q fell by 4.1 per cent, which the company said reflected a late start to spring resulting in fewer visitors to stores and affecting spending on some of its core items.

“Big-ticket” spending, meaning more costly home purchases, was dragged down by fewer bathroom sales, but the firm said this was partly offset by strengthening new kitchen ranges.

Nevertheless, the Screwfix brand continued to strengthen with sales jumping by 4.1 per cent year on year.

Kingfisher chief executive Thierry Garnier said it was a “resilient start to the year” for the retailer while remaining “mindful of the consumer environment”.

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The brand has been taking a bigger share of the market and has been impacted by online and trade initiatives.

The retail group is expecting earnings to grow this year, saying it is on track to make adjusted profits of between £565 million and £625 million for the current financial year.

“E-commerce and trade sales both delivered double-digit growth, underlining the momentum in our key growth drivers,” Mr Garnier said.

“While mindful of the consumer environment, we remain absolutely focused on delivering our strategy, disciplined gross margin and cost management, and consistent shareholder returns.”

However, Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “Blaming the weather for weak trading is often seen in the ‘dog ate my homework’ category of excuses by the market, but the fact it has not forced any downgrades means Kingfisher has kept investors on side.

“Among the areas of positivity is the continued strong growth in the Screwfix business. Kingfisher, like several of its peers, is pursuing trade customers who are often more reliable and consistent sources of revenue than ordinary consumers.

“That’s because materials and tools are not a nice-to-have for them but essential to their day job.”

Armalytix has launched Complete Compliance Bundles for the UK property market, combining several checks into a single process for home movers.

The new offering brings together digital identity, Source of Funds, anti-money laundering, fraud and affordability checks in one structured journey. The bundles can be tailored to different stages of a home move and to the needs of the firms involved in a transaction.

The launch comes as property companies face pressure to cut duplication in compliance work while managing rising scrutiny and transaction delays. Home movers are often asked to submit the same information multiple times to estate agents, brokers, lenders and conveyancers, slowing progress and creating inconsistent records across the chain.

Armalytix says its system is designed to give firms a single verified view of a customer’s status through one digital process. The approach is intended to help participants in a transaction work from the same base of information rather than relying on separate checks gathered through different systems.

Market pressure

Across the property sector, compliance has become a bigger operational issue as firms try to meet anti-fraud and anti-money laundering obligations without adding friction for customers. Transactions often involve several businesses, each with its own procedures, documents and systems, leading to repeated requests for information and more administrative work.

That has made the balance between regulatory requirements and customer experience a more prominent issue for property professionals. Delays and failed transactions remain a persistent concern, and firms have been looking for ways to gather key financial information earlier in the process.

The bundles include a single digital journey intended to replace multiple forms, emails and follow-up requests. Other features include workflows that can be adjusted for different roles across a property transaction and real-time visibility of compliance status on each matter.

The product also supports upfront data capture so checks do not have to be repeated later in the process. Armalytix argues this could reduce manual handling and limit the amount of information a home mover needs to resubmit as a sale or purchase progresses.

Property chain

Armalytix has been active in digital financial verification for the conveyancing market, and the new bundles extend that work across a wider part of the transaction chain. The product is intended to support estate agency, mortgage and lending workflows, as well as legal work linked to property deals.

By bringing those elements together, Armalytix is positioning the launch around a common market problem: fragmented compliance checks carried out by different parties at different times. If adopted by multiple firms in a transaction, a more unified process could reduce repeated data collection and help information move more consistently between participants.

For firms in the sector, the appeal lies in whether one structured journey can cut the administrative burden without weakening controls. Financial verification in property has become more detailed, and businesses must show they understand the source of a client’s money, identify fraud risks and meet anti-money laundering obligations while still moving cases forward.

Alex Mangan addressed that challenge in comments released with the launch. “Property professionals are under pressure to keep transactions moving, while home movers are often asked for the same information multiple times. That creates frustration on both sides. Complete Compliance is about simplifying that experience, giving firms a clearer, more structured way to verify transactions, and making the process easier for the people going through it,” said Alex Mangan, Head of Sales at Armalytix.

The supermarket said the affected Morrisons Daily branches have been loss-making for some time.

Jobs are at risk at stores across Oxfordshire, including two in Oxford and Bicester, and one each in Banbury, Carterton, Didcot, Faringdon and Thame.

Morrisons, which runs around 1,700 Daily convenience stores, took them on as part of its £190m rescue of McColl’s in 2022.

The move follows last year’s decision to shut 52 cafés and 17 convenience stores.

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The grocer said the stores’ performance has been squeezed in recent years by rising costs it links to Government policy, including increases to the national living wage and employer National Insurance contributions.

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A Morrisons spokesperson told The Retail Gazette it was proposing the “tough but necessary decision” to close the loss-making stores, with a staff consultation due to begin shortly.

The retailer has not yet revealed which sites are earmarked for closure or exactly how many roles are at risk, but it is thought that hundreds of staff could be affected.

While the company said it would try to find alternative roles for those impacted by the proposed cuts, it insisted it still has a “robust expansion plan” for 2026 and believes there is scope to open hundreds more franchise convenience stores over the coming years.