Kingfisher feels chill as poor weather hurts B&Q sales

Poor summer weather sent sales at B&Q down almost 8% between May and July, as shivering customers had no desire to buy barbecues and garden furniture.

Total UK and Ireland sales at owner Kingfisher fell by 2% to £1.3 billion in the second quarter.

Sales were rescued to some extent by a strong performance from Screwfix, the building supplies company that sells mainly to the trade, which rose 17.2%.

Kingfisher’s sales in France also continued to be weak, with its Castorama and Brico Depot shops seeing a fall in sales, once the impact of weaker sterling is removed.

The retailer said the closure of some UK stores, as part of a plan to transform it, had hit performance.

Kingfisher said it remained “cautious” about the second half of the year but the City was unconvinced, as the shares slumped to the bottom of the FTSE 100, down 4% to 295.7p.