Insiders at Homebase told GTN Xtra this week that the new owners appear to be wasting no time in establishing a new senior management team ahead of re-branding the business later this year.

The Australian Wesfarmers group aims to trade the group under the brand name of Bunnings, a household name in Ausralia and New Zealand.

The proposed new trading team is reported to consist of a general manager, nine category managers and 22 buyers and their assistants. It is thought that none of Homebase’s existing trading directors will have survived the clear-out by the end of the summer.

Although details of possible redundancies are hard to come by, two insiders confirmed reports that the new owners are using a points system to evaluate the workforce. People who do not wish to take up newly-assigned roles in the new team will lose points.