Administrators for Wilko have revealed the locations of the 52 stores that will close next week and warned of more job losses if last-ditch talks to save the remainder of the stricken retailer fall through.
PwC, which on Tuesday revealed that more than 1,300 Wilko staff are to lose their jobs, said it remains “committed to doing all we can to help affected staff” but said there could be more store closures and redundancies to come.
Edward Williams, joint administrator at PwC, said: “Active discussions with interested parties in buying parts of the business continue and the administrators remain committed to preserving as many jobs as possible. However, depending on the outcome of those talks, it is possible that further store closures may regrettably be necessary.”
Wilko owns 408 stores and employs almost 12,500 staff. On Tuesday, administrators confirmed that 52 stores would close next week with the loss of 1,016 jobs.
Another 299 jobs are to go at Wilko’s two big warehouses in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, and Newport, Wales. There will be a further 17 redundancies in its support centre among staff working in digital operations.
Separately, on Tuesday the discount chain B&M announced a deal to buy 51 Wilko stores for up to £13m.
However, it emerged that this deal could result in mass job losses among Wilko staff as the agreement is to buy store premises only.
This means that while new B&M stores may open on the site, there is no guarantee that Wilko workers would transfer to the new businesses under employment law known as Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment rights (Tupe).
The GMB union said it was inquiring about the possibility of Wilko staff being given “preferential treatment” in applying for any new B&M jobs instead of being made redundant when the discount retailer closes the existing Wilko premises.
PwC is continuing talks with Doug Putman, who engineered a turnaround of HMV in the UK and owns Toys R Us in Canada. He aims to save as many as 300 of Wilko’s stores, throwing a lifeline to the majority of its 12,000-plus staff.
However, the deal by Putnam has been left in the balance after some big suppliers of household cleaning and food products, including Unilever and Procter & Gamble, said they want their debts repaid now if they are to continue supplying Wilko stores.
Administrators at PwC are also in talks about saving some of Wilko’s stores with other potential suitors including Poundland, Home Bargains and The Range.
PwC has an obligation to try to protect the interests of creditors including Hilco, which is owed £40m.
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“In the absence of viable offers for the whole business, very sadly store closures and redundancies of team members from those stores are now necessary,” said PwC’s Williams.
“The loss of these stores will be felt not only by the team members who served them with such dedication, including through the uncertainty of recent weeks, but also the communities which they have been a part of.”
The 24 Wilko stores due to close on 12 September:
Acton, Aldershot, Barking, Bishop Auckland, Bletchley FF, Brownhills, Camberley, Cardiff Bay Retail Park, Falmouth, Harpurhey, Irvine, Liverpool Edge Lane, Llandudno, Lowestoft, Morley, Nelson, Port Talbot, Putney, Stafford, Tunbridge Wells, Wakefield, Weston-super-Mare, Westwood Cross, Winsford.
The 28 Wilko stores due to close on the 14 September:
Ashford, Avonmeads, Banbury, Barrow in Furness, Basildon, Belle Vale, Burnley (Relocation), Clydebank, Cortonwood, Dagenham, Dewsbury, Eccles, Folkestone, Great Yarmouth, Hammersmith, Huddersfield, Morriston, New Malden, North Shields, Queen Street Cardiff, Rhyl, Southampton-West Quay, St Austell, Stockport, Truro, Uttoxeter, Walsall, Woking.