The last-bid rescue deal for high street chain Wilko has officially collapsed, leaving the future of thousands of jobs uncertain.
Billionaire owner of HMV Doug Putman said he had hoped to save a lot of stores and jobs, and was hoping to keep up to 300 Wilko shops open, but his bid has failed as rising costs complicated the deal.
It leaves the future of more than 10,000 workers and hundreds of stores now at risk.
Some of Wilko’s remaining stores could be sold to rival retailers, such as Poundland or The Range, but administrators are expected to announce the full details of job losses and store closures in the coming days.
Already 1,016 redundancies have been announced across UK 52 shops that will close on Tuesday and Thursday this week.
Another 299 redundancies have taken place at its two distribution centres in Worksop and Newport, while more than 260 lay-offs have been made at its support centre.
Wilko CEO Mark Jackson said management had “left no stone unturned” in its efforts to preserve the business. He added: “But we must concede that, with regret, we’ve no choice but to take the difficult decision to enter into administration.”
Why is Wilko closing stores?
The firm was unable to secure emergency funding to save its 400 stores throughout the UK.
Wilko has struggled in the economic climate and last year borrowed £40 million to stay afloat, changed its leadership team, and sold a distribution centre.
It also struggled to pay suppliers and this led to shoppers noticing gaps on its shelves.
Last year, the owners of the brand took £3 million in dividends despite the business falling almost £37 million into the red before the injection of £40 million.
Wilko is continuing to trade while in administration but overall control is with the administrator rather than former management.
However, it is understood multiple Wilko shops have now closed for good.
When is Wilko closing down?
Business leaders behind Poundland, Primark, and Home Bargains were all reportedly in the running for a takeover bid but this appears to have failed and time has run out.
As of now, no decisions have been officially announced and many remaining Wilko stores are still operating. Announcements on closures and job losses are expected imminently.
Which stores are closing?
This is the full list of Wilko shops that will close on Tuesday September 12:
Acton, London
Aldershot, Hampshire
Barking, London
Bishop Auckland
County Durham
Bletchley, Milton Keynes
Brownhills, Walsall
Camberley, Surrey
Cardiff Bay Retail Park
Falmouth, Cornwall
Harpurhey, Manchester
Irvine, North Ayrshire
Liverpool Edge Lane
Llandudno, Wales
Lowestoft, Suffolk
Morley, Leeds
Nelson, Lancashire
Port Talbot, Wales
Putney, London
Stafford, Staffordshire
Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Wakefield, 121 Kirkgate
Weston-super-Mare, Somerset
Westwood Cross Retail Park
Broadstairs, Kent
Winsford, Cheshire
This is the full list of Wilko shops that will close on Thursday September 14:
Ashford, Kent
Avonmeads, Bristol
Banbury, Oxfordshire
Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria
Basildon, Essex
Belle Vale, Liverpool
Burnley, Lancashire
Clydebank, Glasgow
Cortonwood, Barnsley
Dagenham, Essex
Dewsbury, West Yorkshire
Eccles, Greater Manchester
Folkestone, Kent
Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
Hammersmith, London
Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
Morriston, Swansea
New Malden, South-west London
North Shields, Tyne and Wear
Queen Street, Cardiff
Rhyl, Wales
Southampton West Quay
St Austell, Cornwall
Stockport, Greater Manchester
Truro, Cornwall
Uttoxeter, Staffordshire
Walsall Woking, Surrey
Wilko administrators set a deadline of August 16 for first bids to buy the chain
/ James Manning / PAHow many Wilko stores are in London?
There are at least 26 Wilko shops in London. These are:
- Kensington High Street
- Fulham
- Hammersmith
- Putney
- Tooting
- Lewisham
- Wood Green
- Stratford
- Acton
- Tottenham Hale
- Walthamstow
- Edmonton Green
- Barking
- Ilford
- East Ham
- Greenwich
- Thamesmead
- Colindale
- Wembley
- Wimbledon
- Penge
- Sutton
- New Malden
- Kingston
- Bromley
- Bexleyheath