Homebase has collapsed into administration, putting 2,000 jobs at risk.
Its owner Hilco had been looking to sell the struggling retailer, but has not managed to find an outright buyer.
Homeware chain The Range is buying up to 75 stores and the brand, safeguarding about 1,600 jobs.
But this leaves 49 stores without a buyer, and thousands of jobs at risk in the stores and head office.
Those stores will continue to trade while administrators Teneo look for a buyer, and there will be no immediate redundancies.
Along with up to 70 stores, Range owner CDS Superstores has also bought the brand name and intellectual property.
It is unclear whether those stores will remain branded as Homebase.
The location of the stores has yet to be disclosed.
Homebase chief executive Damian McGloughlin said the past three years had been “incredibly challenging” for DIY stores.
He said a “decline in consumer confidence and spending following the pandemic” and “persistent high inflation, global supply chain issues and unseasonable weather” had all had an impact.
McGloughlin said the business had restructured and sought investment, but “these efforts have not been successful”.
He added that staff would find the news of the collapse “unsettling”.
