Wilko collapses into administration, placing 12,000 jobs at risk
Wilko has collapsed into administration today after the struggling high street retailer failed to find a rescuer.
The 400 strong high street store has appointed PWC as administrator, after a number of talks to save the business failed to come to fruition.
In a statement, chief of Wilko, Mark Jackson, said the company had been with “no choice” but to call in administrators.
He 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.”
The move will place some 12,000 jobs at risk, however Jackson said he would do do “what’s best to preserve as many jobs as possible”.
“We’ve all fought hard to keep this incredible business intact but must concede that time has run out and now,” he added.
Wilko has spent the summer hunting for a rescue deal and tapped Hilco for £45m over the past year to keep it afloat.
Earlier this week, reports emerged that that Laura Ashley owner Gordon Brothers entered into talks with Wilko’s advisors about a possible deal.
Wilko, like many other high street stores, has struggled in recent years due to a rise in online shopping along with a recent slowdown in consumer spending.
In January, Paperchase was wiped off the high street after being hammered hard during the pandemic. Its intellectual property was bought by Tesco and all stores were shut.