Wilko bargain chain collapses with 12,000 jobs at risk as rescue talks fail
A bid to secure a rescue deal to save high street bargain chain Wilko has failed, with bosses calling in the the administrators.
The jobs of 12,000 people are now under threat as a result of the news.
The high street retailer announced yesterday (Wednesday, August 9) that they had received indicative offers to help recapitalise but none provided sufficient funds in the correct time frame.
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And after appointing PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as its advisors to find a buyer, the company has now turned into the administrators.
Wilko’s chief executive said the retailer had received rescue offers before it was forced to enter into administration – but none were seemingly accepted.
Mark Jackson said: “While we can confirm we had a significant level of interest, including indicative offers that we believe would meet all our financial criteria to recapitalise the business, without the surety of being able to complete the deal within the necessary time frame, and given the cash position, we’ve been left with no choice but to take this unfortunate action.”
And in an open letter to staff, he added: “Over the past six months Wilko has been very open that we’ve been considering options to accelerate a turnaround plan given that we needed to make significant changes to the way we operate to restore confidence and stabilise our business.
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“We left no stone unturned when it came to preserving this incredible business but must concede that with regret, we’ve no choice but to take the difficult decision to enter into administration.
“We’ve all fought hard to keep this incredible business intact but must concede that time has run out and now we must do what’s best to preserve as many jobs as possible, for as long as is possible, by working with our appointed administrators.”
No time frame on the administration process has been given, and no comment has been made by PwC.
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