ADMINISTRATORS have revealed the 52 Wilko shops set to close next week due to the chain’s collapse.
And while the branches in Worcester, Redditch and Droitwich have been spared the axe, a rescue deal for the business hangs in the balance due to the “absence of viable offers” for the whole company, say PwC
26 shops will close on Tuesday, with a further 28 to shut on Thursday (September 14) and more than 1,000 staff are being made redundant.
Stores closing include branches in Liverpool, Cardiff, Acton and Falmouth.
Edward Williams, joint administrator at PwC, said the closures and job losses were “necessary” due to lack of buyers for the whole business.
“The loss of these stores will be felt not only by the team members who served them with such dedication, including through the uncertainty of recent weeks, but also the communities which they have been a part of,” said Mr Williams.
Administrators announced more than 1,300 redundancies on Tuesday, with job losses at the 52 stores as well as Wilko’s distribution and support centres.
Rival B&M has agreed a £13million deal for up to 51 of Wilko’s buildings, but the fate of the brand and a further 300 stores remains uncertain, with a bigger rescue package put forward by HMV’s Doug Putman understood to have been held up due to funding issues.
PwC said “active discussions with parties interested in buying parts of the business” were continuing and that it was “committed to preserving as many jobs as possible”.
But it warned that it was possible that “further store closures may regrettably be necessary”.
The retail chain, a stalwart of the High Street for decades, fell into administration in August after struggling with losses. It has around 12,500 staff and 400 shops
The following stores will close on 12 September:
Acton
Aldershot
Barking
Bishop Auckland
Bletchley
Brownhills
Camberley
Cardiff Bay Retail Park
Falmouth
Harpurhey
Irvine
Liverpool Edge Lane
Llandudno
Lowestoft
Morley
Nelson
Port Talbot
Putney
Stafford
Tunbridge Wells
Wakefield
Weston-super-Mare
Westwood Cross
Winsford
The following stores will close on 14 September:
Ashford
Avonmeads
Banbury
Barrow in Furness
Basildon, Belle Vale
Burnley
Clydebank
Cortonwood
Dagenham
Dewsbury
Eccles
Folkestone
Great Yarmouth
Hammersmith
Huddersfield
Morriston
New Malden
North Shields
Queen Street Cardiff
Rhyl
Southampton-West Quay
St Austell
Stockport
Truro
Uttoxeter
Walsall
Woking
