HAMPSHIRE-BASED DIY retailer B&Q is set to close 60 stores.

It has been announced this morning that the company will close the store over the next two years as part of a “restructuring”.

The Chandlers Ford-based firm announced last year that it was to close its store in Mayfield Road, and the site may be turned into student flats.

Parent company Kingfisher, which also owns Screwfix, plans to axe about 15 per cent of surplus space as a result of the review of its 360-strong B&Q estate.

The move was announced as it posted a 7.5 per cent drop in annual profits to £675 million after sales fell by 1.4 per cent to £11 billion in the year to January 31.