Travis Perkins PLC (LON:TPK) said it is making progress with its plans to demerge its Wickes chain of home improvement stores.
Reiterating its previous statement that the split was “on track to be completed in the second quarter”, the FTSE 250 group also outlined a bullish outlook for the business.
It said Wickes, which has been transformed from a dowdy chain of outlets for trade customers into more flashy consumer-friendly stores but still “equally balanced” and with low prices to keep professionals coming, was likely to grow despite the DIY market remaining flat in coming years.
In the company's "high-level equity story", Wickes sees a home improvement market growing at 2.5% per year, with the do-if-for-me (DIFM) and local trade contributing all the growth.