Administrators announce all remaining Wilko stores to close

Joint administrators, PwC, have announced the closure all Wilko stores still trading by early October 2023, with the decision resulting in the redundancies of over 9,000 staff.

Closures had been announced last week for over fifty stores to close, including the Stockport branch, as a buyer continued to be sought for the majority of the household goods retailers’ operations. B&M has already agreed to take on 51 stores in a £13 million deal, however, a larger deal with Canadian entrepreneur, Doug Putman, who stepped in to rescue HMV in 2018, has now fallen through.

PwC’s Zelf Hussain, joint administrator, said:

“Despite the significant and intensive efforts of both ourselves and Putman Investments – the remaining party interested in buying a significant part of the business as a going concern – a transaction could not be progressed due to the inability to reduce central infrastructure costs quickly enough to make a deal commercially viable.

“The dedication shown by all team members during this period has been hugely humbling and we are grateful for the patience and understanding they have shown. As with those who have already been given notice of redundancy, we will guide and support those team members impacted over the coming weeks through the redundancy claims process. We also continue to collaborate closely with relevant agencies and engage with any potential employers to help facilitate a quick return into new employment for those impacted.

“We continue to work with potential buyers for different parts of the business and are confident of completing transactions in the coming days.”

The latest store closure announcement will see 9,100 Wilko staff lose their jobs at around 350 stores nationwide by early October. Alongside the closure of all remaining Wilko stores, PwC confirmed distribution centres will cease operations from Friday 15th September, with a further 210 job losses announced at its East Midlands head office as activities wind down.

A number of retailers, including Aldi, The Range and Dunelm have all actively encouraged Wilko staff who are losing their jobs to apply for vacancies, with some offering guaranteed interviews.

Discussions are understood to continue to be proceeding with other interested parties to take a portion of Wilko’s retail estate, including Poundland owner, PepCo; The Range is also considering purchasing the Wilko brand.