Poundland to take over up to 71 Wilko stores

A deal has been struck for the owners of Poundland to take over the leases of up to 71 Wilko stores.

The Pepco Group will rebrand the branches under the Poundland name, administrators PwC said.

In a statement, Poundland said it would give priority to Wilko workers when hiring new staff for the shops.

It comes after the discount homeware chain – owned by the founding Wilkinson family for decades – went into administration last month, putting 12,500 jobs at risk.

While the deal includes “up to” 71 Wilko outlets, a spokesman said the final total would depend on talks with the landlords of each site to agree lease terms.

Hopes that all of Wilko’s 400 branches could be saved were seemingly dashed earlier this week when a rescue deal involving the owner of HMV collapsed.

The development prompted PwC to announce on Monday evening that all Wilko stores will close down, with 9,100 employees made redundant, by early October.

Fellow discount retailer B&M has already signed a deal to snap up 51 Wilko stores, but it is unclear if staff at those branches will be kept on or rehired.

The 122 sites included in the agreements with Pepco and B&M employ more than 3,200 staff in total.

Joint administrator Edward Williams said: “Alongside the previously announced agreement with B&M, we’re confident this sale will create a platform for future employment opportunities for people including current Wilko team members at up to 122 locations.

“We will continue to engage with other retailers around any interest in other Wilko sites and are confident of completing a sale of the brand and intellectual property within the coming days.”

A spokesman for Poundland said the stores in the deal were mostly in locations where it currently has a “limited presence”.

He added: “The lease assignments are expected to be completed in early Autumn, enabling these stores to join Poundland’s existing 800-plus UK estate and open in the important fourth calendar quarter of 2023.”

Poundland managing director Barry Williams said: “In the coming weeks we will work quickly with landlords so we can open these stores as Poundlands with the new ranges that have been pivotal to our recent development.

“And once that process is complete, we will ensure a significant number of the Wilko colleagues will join our Poundland team.”

He added: “The Wilko stores will accelerate our existing transformation programme, offering amazing value for consumers, providing growth opportunities for suppliers and supporting employment in the high streets, shopping centres and retail parks customers love.”

The announcement comes on the final day of trading at 24 Wilko stores, in the first phase of the chain’s mass closures. Another 28 shops will shut at the end of the day on Thursday.

The 93-year-old retailer, which was founded in 1930 in Leicester, collapsed after being hit hard by inflationary pressures, competition from rivals and supply chain challenges.

The locations of the branches acquired by B&M are yet to be revealed because they are subject to a confidentiality agreement, the administrators said.

PwC said the 71 stores in the deal with Pepco include the following branches:

Aberdare

Alfreton

Alnwick

Altrincham

Ammanford

Ashby

Barking

Bedminster

Beeston

Bicester

Bishop Stortford

Bletchley

Bolton

Brentwood

Brigg

Cambridge

Chepstow

Coalville

Cramlington

Droitwich

Eccles

Edmonton Green

Ellesmere Port

Ferndown

Gateshead

Grays

Greenock

Grimsby

Havant

Hayes

Headingley

Hessle Road – Hull

Hillsborough

Hitchin

Jarrow

Killingworth

Kimberley

Lee Circle

Leek

Leigh

Lichfield

Maidenhead

Matlock

Melton Mowbray

Nelson

Northallerton

Orton

Pembroke Dock

Peterlee

Pontefract

Pontypool

Redhill

Redruth

Ripley

Rugeley

Sale

Seaham

Selly Oak

Shrewsbury Darwin Centre

South Shields

Southport

Stafford

Stamford

Stockport

Thornaby

Wellington

Wembley

West Ealing

Wombwell

Worcester

Worksop

Poundland to take over up to 71 Wilko stores

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