DIY retailer Homebase is reportedly to close as many as 60 stores and cull more than 1,000 jobs in a last-ditch bid to save the business.

The brand’s new owners proposed the measures in a plea to landlords for support, Sky News reported. Homebase said it would not comment but did not dispute the report when approached.

It comes after a troubled year for the garden and home furnishings retailer, which has 250 stores and around 11,000 employees, and was sold in May for just £1.

The chain was bought in 2016 by Australian giant Wesfarmers in a £340m deal which looked set to revive its fortunes.

Homebase was taken on by Wesfarmers’ Bunnings DIY chain, a well-known company in Australia. 

Stores began to adopt the Bunnings brand, with revamped ranges among the changes.

But losses mounted, reaching over £547m, in a move described by market analysts as “the most disastrous retail acquisition in the UK ever”.

Restructuring specialists Hilco purchased Homebase in May, prompting fears over jobs at underperforming shops. 

The news comes amid broader turmoil for the high street, with thousands of jobs lost in the past year as consumer habits shift online.