More than 50 Wilko stores will shut next week in a fresh blow to staff – even after B&M swooped in to save some of the stricken retailer’s sites.
The store closures will result in redundancies for 1,016 staff who have been nervously awaiting news over their futures since the company crashed into administration last month.
Administrators at PwC said they would reveal the locations of the 52 stores that will close today before the shutters come down for the final time on Tuesday or Thursday next wek.
There was no interest from potential buyers for these particular stores, PwC said.
The administrators also announced a further 299 redundancies at two distribution centres in Worksop and Newport. These staff will be redundant tomorrow. A total of 1,601 Wilko jobs have been lost.
More than 50 Wilko stores will shut next week resulting in redundancies for 1,016 staff
The bleak news came after Wilko’s discount rival B&M yesterday agreed to buy up to 51 Wilko stores for £13million.
It is not clear how many of the 1,000 or so staff at these shops will be kept on. And B&M would not confirm whether it will keep the Wilko name.
Analysts reckon it is keen to expand the B&M brand beyond retail parks and onto the High Street – meaning the Wilko name could disappear.
Talks between PwC and HMV owner Doug Putman to save hundreds more stores and thousands of jobs are ongoing.
Administrators said: ‘We continue to explore all interest in the remainder of the business and are actively working with potential buyers.’
Rescue talks for Wilko – founded by JK Wilkinson in 1930 with a single hardware shop in Leicester – have been taking place since the stricken homeware chain collapsed on August 10, putting 400 stores and 12,500 jobs at risk.
PwC has been trying to secure the best value for creditors, including restructuring specialist Hilco, which is owed £40million.
Staff are hoping for more information this week about Canadian tycoon Putman’s ambitions for the retailer. He is thought to want to save 300 stores and pay debts owed to Hilco.
It has been reported that suppliers are demanding overdue payments, which is holding up administrators from giving Putman’s deal the green light.
‘Hopes for a larger white knight rescue of the Wilko chain have been clouded in a dust of uncertainty,’ said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
‘At the most, it looks like a scaled-down bid for the chain will be clinched, which would save the famous red and white frontage.
But Wilko’s presence on the High Street would be a pale comparison to its heady days of success.’
Unions reiterated criticisms of the company’s leadership and owners after Wilko dished out multi-million dividend payouts in the run-up to its collapse.
Some £77m was handed to former shareholders in the past decade, including during years when the firm made a loss, The Mail on Sunday reported exclusively.
Last night Andy Prendergast, GMB national secretary, said: ‘Every single redundancy is a person who will wake up facing an uncertain future.
‘This needs to be on the forefront of everyone’s minds. The reality is, years of mismanagement have led us here.’
