The parent group of retail giants B&Q have announced "disappointing" trading figures for the third quarter of 2019.

The Kingfisher Group announced a total decline in like-for-like sales of 3.7 per cent for the three months to October 31.

And it was the slump in trading from B&Q that caused the majority of the damage with a 3.4 per cent fall in sales to £820million.

Kingfisher also operate the Screwfix brand, which showed an increase of sales of 3.7 per cent to £477million for the same period.

The group appointed Thierry Garnier as CEO earlier this year in an attempt to arrest a decline and these results mark his first chance to have his say on the company's performance.

He said: "In my first eight weeks at Kingfisher I have immersed myself in our operations, listened to colleagues, visited stores and met with our customers and suppliers.

"I am proud to be leading a Group with strong assets, excellent market positions, differentiated business models and strong brands.

"I have also been encouraged by the commitment of our colleagues, and by proof of product innovation.

"However, it is clear that there is much to do to improve our performance. Kingfisher's trading during Q3 was disappointing.

"My early assessment is that we have not found the right balance between getting the benefits of Group scale and staying close to local markets.

"We are suffering from organisational complexity, and we are trying to do too much at once with multiple large-scale initiatives running in parallel.

"Altogether, this has brought disruption to sales and has distracted the business from focusing on customers. In addition, we faced softer market conditions in our main markets during the period.

"As a team, our priority is to fix our operational issues - particularly in IT and supply chain in France - and refocus our efforts.

"This includes stopping or pausing a number of initiatives to concentrate on stabilising performance and trading. The effect of these changes will not be immediate.

"In parallel, we are building a longer term plan to refocus on our customers, simplify our model, embrace digital and return our business to growth.

"I look forward to providing an update on the business and our strategic priorities in March, within our full year results."

B&Q operate huge premises off the Arle Court roundabout in Cheltenham and on the St Oswalds business park in Gloucester - which is reported to be their largest outlet in the country.