Wilko slashes prices as rescue bids weighed up

Wilko has slashed prices at hundreds of stores as unions insisted there are still ‘genuine grounds for hope’ for a rescue deal.

The collapsed High Street retailer launched a sale offering up to 50 per cent off at its 400 shops across the country having tumbled into administration last week, putting 12,000 jobs at risk.

The sale comes as administrators at PwC consider various bids for Wilko in the hope of saving the business.

B&M, Poundland and Benson for Beds-owner Alteri are all rumoured to have thrown their hat into the ring.

And while there have been concerns for Wilko’s 12,500 staff, union bosses have been more optimistic.

Sign of the times: The collapsed High Street retailer launched a sale offering up to 50 per cent off at its 400 shops across the country

Andy Prendergast, national secretary at the GMB union, said: ‘We can confirm there have been expressions of interest from organisations who are considering taking over at least some parts of the business. These are still at an early stage, but this means there are genuine grounds for hope. While this process continues, staff will continue to be paid and kept on.’

Wilko has been a High Street name in Britain for decades. It was founded in 1930 as a hardware shop in Leicester by JK Wilkinson, and for decades was known as Wilkinson before taking on the abbreviated form in the early 2010s.

Over the years the family-owned company expanded its range to include DIY products, gardening wares and general home goods. But it has faced stiff competition from a growing number of cut-price competitors including B&M, The Range and Home Bargains.

It is thought would-be saviours have tabled offers to PwC for 40 to 50 Wilko stores, though one rescue offer, if accepted, could see as many as 300 stores retained. But the order of events is reminiscent of Woolworths, which disappeared from High Street in 2008 at the height of the credit crunch with the loss of 27,000 jobs and 800 stores.

Wilko bosses were slammed after the Mail on Sunday revealed they took £77m out of the company in the decade before it collapsed.

The biggest chunk came as £63m was paid to one side of the Wilkinson family after it sold its share of the company to other members of the clan.

Another £3m was taken out as a shareholder dividend in 2022, when the company announced losses of £35.9m.

Chief executive Mark Jackson said last week the company had done all it could to weather uncertain economic circumstances – but that ‘time has run out’.

In a letter to staff, he said: ‘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.’