INDEX / DIRECTORY / B&Q / ECONOMIC

B&Q ECONOMIC

ECONOMIC AUDIT UPDATED 2026-09-22
Economic Score 3.50 /10 C B&Q - BDS-1000 455
Economic 3.50

Evidence-only forensic audit. Scoring happens downstream - see the main dossier for the composite assessment.

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Supply Chain & Sourcing Relationships

B&Q, through its DIY.com retail platform, continues to market Keter-branded garden storage, sheds, chairs, benches, furniture sets, stools and tables; live B&Q material retrieved in September 2026 lists individual Keter products for purchase.1, 2, 3 Keter is an Israeli-founded manufacturer, founded in 1948, with headquarters, innovation and R&D centres in Israel; Keter identifies its headquarters in Herzliya, a Yokneam campus, and facilities at Carmiel and Alon Tavor.2, 4, 5 This commercial relationship dates back to at least 2012, when Corporate Watch corresponded directly with B&Q regarding its Keter sourcing.6, 7

Kingfisher states that international and local vendor-branded goods are sourced by buying teams within individual retail banners, while Kingfisher Own Exclusive Brands are sourced centrally by its Offer and Sourcing organisation.8 This supports a banner-level procurement model for vendor brands such as Keter, but does not disclose B&Q’s Keter contract, importer of record, shipment route, or whether supply is direct or via a UK distributor.8

B&Q also currently stocks Palram-Canopia branded polycarbonate greenhouses; Palram is an Israeli manufacturer founded in 1963.9, 10 no public evidence identified of B&Q commercial relationships with Israeli agricultural exporters including Mehadrin, Hadiklaim, Galilee Export, or Agrexco successors, consistent with B&Q’s publicly evidenced home-improvement and garden-retail activity rather than fresh-produce retailing.1, 9, 10 no public evidence identified of a dedicated B&Q or Kingfisher importer, joint venture, or other import-of-record entity for Israeli-origin goods.8, 11

No public evidence identified of B&Q selling Hamat/Lipski products or linking B&Q commercially to Hamat Group, formerly Lipski Plastic, a separate Israeli manufacturer with a documented West Bank settlement-zone facility.12, 13

Product Origin, Labeling & Regulatory Compliance

Who Profits documented that Keter operated a manufacturing facility in the Barkan Industrial Zone in the occupied West Bank, established in 1982 on land from the Palestinian villages of Haris, Bruqin and Sarta.14, 15 In 2014, Keter stated that it “does not own any facility or operation in what the UN defines as the occupied territories”; Who Profits documented Keter-branded trucks at the Barkan factory yard on 21 March 2014.14 Multiple sources describe cessation or discontinuation of Keter’s Barkan operations during 2014–2016 following BDS-related pressure.16, 15, 17

In a 2012 response to Corporate Watch, B&Q stated: “We are not sourcing from the Barkan site and have received appropriate guarantees from Keter to verify this claim. We continue sourcing from Keter whilst engaging with them.”6 B&Q also stated around this period that it would avoid sourcing “from conflict zones and/or occupied territories” as a general policy, although Corporate Watch argued at the time that this policy was not consistently applied to the Keter/Barkan situation.6, 7

Keter’s 2024 Sustainability Report, published in 2025, reports manufacturing operations in ten countries, including Israel and the UK, but does not identify B&Q as a customer, identify the origin of B&Q SKUs, or mention Barkan or occupied territory.3 no public evidence identified of a current B&Q product made at Keter’s Israeli facilities, in a settlement, or at the former Barkan facility.3, 4, 5 No more recent B&Q or Kingfisher statement addressing Keter’s settlement history, its 2014–2016 Barkan exit, its current Israel-based manufacturing, or its 2024 ownership change was identified.18, 19, 3

Secondary reporting indicates that Hamat Group has continued operating a factory in the Barkan settlement industrial zone producing plastic plumbing and sanitation products exported to Europe and labelled “Made in Israel,” and that the entity appeared in the 2020 UN settlement-business database.12, 13 no public evidence identified of DEFRA, UK customs, or other regulatory findings, enforcement actions, or citations against B&Q specifically concerning country-of-origin labelling of settlement-produced goods.18, 19

Investment, Capital & Financial Exposure

No public evidence identified of B&Q or Kingfisher making operational investments, acquisitions, factories, data centres, logistics hubs, real estate investments, R&D facilities, technology partnerships, or accelerator programmes in Israel or the occupied Palestinian territories.18, 19, 11 Kingfisher’s FY2025/26 accounts describe the Group’s network as located mainly in the United Kingdom and continental Europe; the related-undertakings list as at 31 January 2026 contains no Israel-domiciled controlled undertaking.18

The prior audit recorded Fintel-reported institutional holdings of approximately 11% for Silchester International Investors LLP, 5.5% for Vanguard Group, and 4.9% for BlackRock.20 Current primary disclosures provide a different and more precise position: as at 31 January 2026, Silchester had notified 10.97% of voting rights, BlackRock 7.67%, T. Rowe Price 4.95%, and Norges Bank 3.54%; a later notification received by 23 March 2026 recorded Silchester at 9.97%.18 Silchester’s 28 November 2025 TR-1 reported 189,062,970 indirect voting rights, no voting rights through financial instruments, and its role as investment manager for commingled-fund clients.21

Silchester was therefore below 10% in the latest reviewed issuer disclosure, dated 23 March 2026.18 Kingfisher states that all ordinary shares carry one vote and that no person has special rights of control over its share capital.18 no public evidence identified of a Silchester board seat, shareholder agreement, veto, nomination right, golden-share right, or other special governance right beyond ordinary voting rights, investment discretion, and ordinary major-shareholder engagement.18, 22, 21 The reviewed evidence does not establish control or a governance role qualifying unrelated client investments as Kingfisher-attributable corporate acts.18, 22, 21

No public evidence identified of Kingfisher or B&Q holding Israeli-domiciled equities, Israeli sovereign bonds, Israel-focused funds, or Israeli defence- or settlement-enterprise investments on their own corporate balance sheets.18, 19 no public evidence identified in targeted public-record searches and reviewed disclosures that a qualifying Kingfisher founder, executive, influential director, major shareholder, or attributed investment vehicle holds a material investment in an Israeli-domiciled company, Israeli state financing, Israeli defence company, OHCHR-listed enterprise, or settlement business.18, 23, 21 This is a search-based non-finding rather than a comprehensive beneficial-ownership audit, because the disclosures do not provide complete personal, family-office, trust, institutional-client, or fund-beneficiary portfolios.18, 23, 21

Operational Presence & Market Activity

No public evidence identified of B&Q offices, retail stores, warehouses, support centres, factories, R&D centres, or controlled operating subsidiaries in Israel or the occupied Palestinian territories.18, 24, 11 A full-text check of Kingfisher’s FY2025/26 annual-report record found no matches for “Israel,” “Palest,” “Keter,” or “Palram,” which is a document-scoped finding and not evidence that supplier relationships do not exist.18

B&Q’s Middle East retail footprint operates through franchise arrangements with Al-Futtaim Group, including documented Saudi Arabian stores, and reviewed franchise and licensing material did not identify Israel.25, 26 no public evidence identified of B&Q employment, tax contribution, Israeli revenue, Israeli defence contracts, or settlement-enterprise contracts.18, 19, 11

Corporate Structure & Foundational Ties

B&Q was founded in Southampton, England in 1969 and has never been Israeli-founded or Israeli-incorporated.18, 24 Its UK trading entity is B&Q Limited, company number 00973387, an active English private limited company incorporated on 26 February 1970, with its registered office at B&Q House, Chestnut Avenue, Chandlers Ford, Eastleigh, Hampshire.24 Companies House records Kingfisher France Limited as B&Q Limited’s sole active person with significant control, holding 75% or more of its shares and voting rights; Kingfisher Holdings Limited ceased to be a PSC on 19 June 2026.27

Kingfisher plc is incorporated in England and Wales, is a London Stock Exchange issuer, and has its registered office at 1 Paddington Square, London.18 Its FY2025/26 accounts identify B&Q Limited as a wholly owned UK subsidiary undertaking, indirectly owned by Kingfisher plc.18 Kingfisher Holdings Limited is an active English holding company, incorporated on 23 January 2015.28

No public evidence identified of dual or legacy Israeli headquarters, Israeli tax residence, Israeli state ownership, Israeli government board appointments, Israeli government contracts, critical-infrastructure designation, golden shares, founder shares, or Israeli-capital control tying B&Q or Kingfisher to the Israeli state.18, 24, 27

Keter Group’s ownership history is documented as follows: BC Partners and Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board acquired Keter from the Israel-based Sagol family in August 2016, with the Sagol family retaining a minority stake.29, 30 Following an IPO withdrawal in 2022 and a failed 2023 sale process, Keter’s senior lenders took full ownership through a debt-for-equity restructuring completed on 29 April 2024, displacing BC Partners and PSP Investments as controlling owners.31, 32, 33, 34 Keter’s 2024 report likewise states that lenders acquired full ownership from BC Partners in early 2024, but no primary disclosure was identified naming the individual lender-owners.3

Profit Repatriation & Economic Contribution

Kingfisher reported B&Q sales of £3.971 billion for the year ended 31 January 2026, within its £6.726 billion UK & Ireland segment.18 no public evidence identified of B&Q or Kingfisher disclosing Israel-attributed revenue, consistent with the absence of confirmed Israeli retail operations.18, 19

The identified commercial flow is B&Q’s purchase and retailing of products from Israeli-founded manufacturers Keter and Palram, rather than Israeli operations remitting profits to B&Q.1, 2, 9, 10, 3 Neither Keter nor Palram is identified as a B&Q subsidiary or joint venture; Keter’s identified Israeli operations are its own, rather than B&Q or Kingfisher facilities.18, 3, 4, 5

Keter’s dividend flows to the Israel-based Sagol family during its 2016–2024 minority-ownership period were referenced in secondary reporting corroborating the family’s original and retained ownership stake, although this specific dividend-flow claim was not independently verified against a primary corporate filing.29, 30

Footnotes

  1. https://www.diy.com/departments/outdoor-garden/garden-buildings/sheds/DIY581242.cat?Brand=Keter&Material+type=Plastic ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. https://www.diy.com/brands/keter ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. https://ketergroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Keter_Sustainability_Report_2024.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  4. https://www.keter.com/he-il/about-us.html ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  5. https://www.keter.com/en-us/about-us.html ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  6. https://corporateoccupation.wordpress.com/2012/12/11/open-letter-to-bq-stocking-keter-products-supports-the-occupation/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  7. https://corporateoccupation.org/category/companies/keter/ ↩ ↩2

  8. https://vendor.kingfisher.com/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  9. https://www.diy.com/departments/palram-greenhouse-h209m-w185m/247114_BQ.prd ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  10. https://www.diy.com/departments/outdoor-garden/greenhouses-growhouses/DIY581240.cat?Brand=Palram+-+Canopia ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  11. https://www.kingfisher.com/responsible-business/reporting/reports-and-publications ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  12. https://www.whoprofits.org/companies/company/4053/ar ↩ ↩2

  13. https://investigate.afsc.org/company/hamat-group ↩ ↩2

  14. https://www.whoprofits.org/companies/company/4060 ↩ ↩2

  15. https://www.cjpme.org/fs_249 ↩ ↩2

  16. https://www.whoprofits.org/publications/report/133 ↩

  17. https://unjppi.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/unsettling-goods-factsheet-keter.pdf ↩

  18. https://www.kingfisher.com/~/media/Files/K/Kingfisher-Plc/Universal/investors/result-reports-presentation/2026/2526-annual-report-and-accounts.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14 ↩15 ↩16 ↩17 ↩18 ↩19 ↩20 ↩21 ↩22

  19. https://www.kingfisher.com/~/media/Files/K/Kingfisher-Plc/Universal/investors/result-reports-presentation/2025/Kingfisher-Annual-Report-2024-25.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  20. https://fintel.io/so/gb/kgf ↩

  21. https://www.investegate.co.uk/announcement/rns/kingfisher - kgf/holding-s-in-company/9264276 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  22. https://www.kingfisher.com/~/media/Files/K/Kingfisher-Plc/Universal/investors/result-reports-presentation/2026/2025_26-Corporate-Governance-Statement.pdf ↩ ↩2

  23. https://www.kingfisher.com/about-us/our-leadership ↩ ↩2

  24. https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00973387 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  25. https://www.rli.uk.com/al-futtaim-group-open-two-bq-franchise-stores-in-riyadh/ ↩

  26. https://www.insightdiy.co.uk/articles/infographic-bq-franchise-agreement-in-middle-east/1281.htm ↩

  27. https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00973387/persons-with-significant-control ↩ ↩2

  28. https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/09404258 ↩

  29. https://www.investpsp.com/en/news/bc-partners-and-psp-investments-to-acquire-keter-group-from-the-sagol-family/ ↩ ↩2

  30. https://www.privateequitywire.co.uk/bc-partners-and-psp-investments-acquire-keter-group-sagol-family/ ↩ ↩2

  31. https://news.bloomberglaw.com/bankruptcy-law/keter-creditors-to-take-over-company-after-sale-process-failed ↩

  32. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-03-09/creditors-take-over-keter-from-bc-partners-and-psp-in-debt-deal ↩

  33. https://www.milbank.com/en/news/milbank-advises-senior-lenders-to-keter-group-on-transfer-of-ownership.html ↩

  34. https://www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/regulatory/article/-/view/type/HTML/id/3162526 ↩