Shares in Kingfisher, which also owns Screwfix, jumped 4.48 per cent to 286.6p following the announcement. Thierry Garnier, Kingfisher chief executive, said: “This franchise agreement leverages our ‘Powered by Kingfisher’ plan, and is a great opportunity to expand our business in the attractive Middle Eastern home improvement market with B&Q, one of our most established retail banners, as well as our differentiated owned exclusive brands. “I am delighted to be working with Al-Futtaim on this step in our plan.” The first two 50,000sq ft sites will open in autumn this year and will operate under the B&Q banner, with Al-Futtiam Group workers employed to run the in-store and support office functions.