A Homebase DIY store is due to open in the Blanchardstown Retail Park, Dublin, after the franchise owners, Hampden Group, announced they would lease a 95,000 sq ft store, subject to planning permission.

Hampden stated the project, which also includes a 20,000 sq ft garden centre, would require £2.6 million of capital expenditure. Hampden's chairman, Mr Stratton Mills, said the store would increase square footage in Dublin by 75 per cent. "It follows our previous announcements this year in relation to the lease of two stores of 100,000 sq ft each in the greater Belfast area and a 55,000 sq ft store in Derry city," he said.