Home no more for Homestore

Ogalas, the company behind the Homestore + More retail chain, is gearing itself up for the festive season to come.

The group, which was co-owned by Argos owner Home Retail until Homestore’s Irish investors and management bought back its stake, is a real money-spinner. Its most recent set of accounts, for the year to the end of January, show sales up 22 per cent to €78.7 million while profits were a healthy €7.6 million.

The company, whose investors include managing director Jonathan Stanley and mobile phone distribution king Don Maher, has recently undergone a corporate restructuring.

Ogalas has taken unlimited status, which will keep prying eyes away from its financial performance. It has also transferred control to an Isle of Man company, Siglo. To borrow Homestore + More’s advertising slogan: “When they’re gone, they’re gone.”