Wilko store closures and 1,300 more job losses confirmed despite B&M deal

Another 1,332 redundancies at collapsed retailer Wilko have been confirmed despite a deal to snap up more than 50 of its branches.

It comes after administrators PwC confirmed on Tuesday that it had offloaded 51 of the chain’s 400 stores to budget retailer B&M.

But it also said 52 stores would shut down with the loss of 1,016 jobs. A further 299 staff at two distribution centres and 17 workers at Wilko’s digital operations department will be made redundant.

Sky News understands that the store closures and newly-announced job losses are not part of the B&M deal.

Some 24 of the branches will close on Tuesday 12 September, while the remaining 28 will shut down two days later.

The location of the affected shops will be publicly revealed on Wednesday.

The job cuts are in addition to the loss of 269 roles at the chain’s support centre in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, along with 14 roles at Wilko subsidiary Kin Limited, which were announced last week.

At the time, PwC also warned further redundancies were to come at the distribution centres, but did not say how many.

Edward Williams, joint administrator at PwC, said on Tuesday: “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, in addition to the already announced redundancies at the support centre and distribution centres.

“We know this has been a deeply unsettling time for everyone concerned and would like to express our gratitude to all Wilko team members for the dedication and support they have continued to give the business in the most trying of circumstances.”

A PwC spokesman added in a statement: “We continue to explore all interest in the remainder of the business and are actively working with potential buyers.”

GMB national secretary Andy Prendergast told Sky’s Ian King its members were angry at the “incompetence” of Wilko’s management, which he said had contributed to its collapse.

He said: “We’re still hopeful that there is a deal to save the majority [of branches], we are in some talks in relation to that… but I think what’s definitely the case, if you told us six months ago we’d be here, we would have been devastated about that.

“Ultimately, we have thousands of members facing a very uncertain future and we as a trade union will do everything we can for them.”

Sky News earlier reported on the expected announcement of the B&M deal, with City editor Mark Kleinman adding that hopes were fading for a wider rescue deal that would take in the vast majority of the chain’s stores and 12,500 employees.

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It was understood that HMV’s owner Doug Putman was now targeting around 200 sites following talks with Wilko’s suppliers, instead of the 300 for which he had initially arranged financing.

“The chances of a deal to avert mass redundancies now looks increasingly unlikely,” Kleinman warned.

He said of the B&M announcement: “That deal wouldn’t have been struck by PwC if the broader rescue deal with Doug Putman was on track and, as I understand it, that deal now looks like it’s being radically re-shaped.”

B&M European Value Retail’s statement to the stock market said it had paid £13m for the 51 sites.

It did not reveal the locations and it is unclear if any jobs will be saved as a result of the deal.

“The consideration is fully funded from existing cash reserves and the acquisition is not expected to be conditional on any regulatory clearances,” B&M added.

“An update on the timing of these new store openings will be provided in the… interim results announcement on 9 November 2023.”

The administrators have spent weeks in negotiations with multiple parties about a store carve-up.

The chain, which was established by the Wilkinson family in 1930, collapsed last month following a failure to find new investment.

Like many high street retailers, it had been hit by inflationary pressures and supply chain challenges.