Wilko expected to disappear from UK High Streets as Putman rescue deal collapses

Wilko expected to disappear from UK High Streets as Putman rescue deal collapses

Thousands of workers are left fearing for their jobs at Wilko as the rescue deal lead by Doug Putman, the owner of HMV, collapsed on Monday.

It was revealed that Mr Putman has ended talks with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) over a slimmed-down deal to acquire over 100 Wilko sites due to the central costs involved with purchasing the chain’s infrastructure.

PwC are now allegedly attempting to strike an agreement with the owner of Poundland in order to offload around 100 of its stores.

The principle issue for the workforce is that, as with the separate deal involving B&M European Value Retail buying 51 Wilko sites, it remains unclear as to whether the staff members who are currently working in the stores will form part of that transaction.

It is also claimed that The Range is in advanced talks to buy Wilko’s brand and online assets.

It was announced last week that at least 52 stores were shutting down and over 1,500 redundancies had been confirmed due to the collapse of the retailer.

Doug Putman, who engineered a turnaround of HMV in the UK and owns Toys R Us in Canada, had been negotiating a deal to save as many as 200 of Wilko’s 408 stores, throwing a lifeline to staff.

He said: “It is with great disappointment that we can no longer continue in the purchase process for Wilko having worked with administrators and suppliers over several weeks to seek a viable way to rescue it as a going concern.”

“We had financing in place and received the full support of [the administrators] PWC, Wilko management and staff representatives, which we are deeply thankful for considering what a challenging time it has been for them,” Putman said.

“However, commitment to overhauling the trading framework of the business with partners and the costs of running Wilko’s legacy operations infrastructure combined has meant that a stable foundation could not be secured to ensure long term success for the business and its people in the way that we would have wanted.”

The full list of Wilko shops set to close on Tuesday 12^th September can be found here.

The GMB followed the above by issuing a statement declaring that they had been informed that all 400 branches will close by early October with the “likely” loss of all 12,500 jobs at the chain.

The union said it was informed of the development by PwC on Monday morning.

PwC are yet to comment on this.

In some circumstances, members of Wilko’s workforce may be offered a settlement agreement. A settlement agreement is a legal document whereby the employees agree to receive an enhanced sum but legally waive the right to sue their former employer for any breaches of the law (for more on settlements please see our dedicated page).

If you have been affected by this terrible situation or if you have been offered a settlement agreement as a result of the redundancy process, and require independent legal advice please do not hesitate to get in touch with us on 0113 200 9720.