DIY chain Homebase, recently bought by Australian group Wesfarmers from Home Retail Group, is to be re-branded in line with the group’s existing Bunnings name.

Wesfarmers managing director Richard Goyder said: “We welcome our new employees and are excited about the opportunity to bring the best of Bunnings to the UK and Ireland.”

The sale means that the Homebase name will disappear completely from the UK, as Wesfarmers seeks to “combine essential local elements with the best of Bunnings”.

Wesfarmers was founded in 1914 as a Western Australian farmers’ cooperative. Its operations now cover: supermarkets, department stores, home improvement and office supplies; coal production and export; chemicals, energy and fertilisers; and industrial and safety products.