B&Q owner Kingfisher is offloading its Italian arm as new chief executive Ian Cheshire tries to get a handle on the group's £1.5 billion debts.

The ailing DIY group is selling its 31-store Castorama Italy division to French home improvement retailer Groupe Adeo for £440 million to bolster its balance sheet and allow it to focus elsewhere in Europe.

Cheshire said the sale of the Italian arm, expected to be complete by January, proved too good to pass up.

He said: "We saw in Italy an opportunity to get a good return as the business is worth more to someone else than to us. It's a chance to pay off some of our net debt at a time when the market is challenging." Although he said there are no plans to sell other parts of the business, Kingfisher remains open to offers: "There is no sacred cow, so we'll keep looking at things".

Cheshire stepped into ousted Gerry Murphy's shoes at the start of the year to revive a business which many consider a major underperformer.

The former B&Q boss has put in place a four-year recovery plan.

More than half of sales now come from outside the UK but parts of the international side have been struggling.

Kingfisher'shares soared 8.4p to 126.8p.