Here’s “hope again” for Wilko’s more than 12,000 employees, as administrators weigh bids to rescue the collapsed retailer and hope to make a decision next week.
PwC administrators on Wednesday set the deadline for potential buyers to submit bids for all or part of Wilko. It is understood that they are currently evaluating the offers that arrived yesterday and will likely decide the channel’s fate next week.
The previous management could not find a buyer for the entire chain in the days before it declared insolvency. However, the administration would allow parts of the business to be sold, meaning more profitable stores could be saved while others could be forced to close.
Rivals B&M and Poundland, as well as Laura Ashley’s owner Gordon Brothers, are among those interested.
Andy Prendergast, national secretary of the GMB union, which represents a third of Wilko’s staff and liaises with directors, said there was reason for hope.
“GMB is in talks with administrators and there is still hope,” he said. “We are seeking clarification on pensions, but we have concerns.
He also touched on how the business was run before the collapse. Shareholders received a £3million dividend last year, even as the retailer was just months away from collapse.
“The Wilkinson family took tens of millions from the business in the decade before the collapse.
“If they really wanted to support workers, they should have invested in their staff.”
Susanah Streeter, Head of Money and Markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Other value retailers and private equity investors are believed to be among the potential interested parties.
“However, the likelihood of a full takeover is seen as slim, given that Wilko’s large retail base on high streets has added to its pile of supply chain blockage issues and inflationary pressures. .
“Rival discounters had also focused on more popular retail park locations and further diversified their product lines into food, which added further resilience with consumers seeking grocery bargains amid of the cost of living crisis. Wilko had remained staunchly focused on home and garden items and consumer goods with only limited snack lines. In the end, the fierce headwinds of inflation and thunderous supply chain challenges proved to be the storm from which it was impossible to recover.
The Wilko brand still has a strong hold on the hearts of value shoppers and should continue in one form or another, but its vast store footprint will shrink rapidly and risk disappearing from the high streets altogether. ”
Wilko entered administration last week but his stores are still open and administrators have promised no “immediate” layoffs.
CEO Mark Jackson said at the time: “We have left no stone unturned to preserve this incredible company, but we have to admit that with regret we have no choice but to make the difficult decision to go into administration.
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