Wilko officially falls into administration with 400 shops at risk

High street chain Wilko said it has appointed administrators after failing to secure a rescue deal, putting about 12,000 jobs at risk. Yesterday, the troubled high street retailer Wilko suspended home deliveries.

A Wilko spokesman said: “Over the past six months we’ve been open with all our stakeholders including our team members that we’ve been considering options to accelerate a turnaround plan given that we needed to make significant changes to the way we operate to restore confidence and stabilise our business. We left no stone unturned when it came to preserving this incredible business but must concede that with regret, we’ve no choice but to take the difficult decision to enter into administration.

“I’d like to take this opportunity on behalf of the directors and the Wilkinson family to thank all of our customers and our hardworking team members across our stores, logistics and support centre who remained loyal to wilko. It’s been an honour to have worked alongside you all as we fought to realise and to maximise the significant opportunities that existed to re-establish a profitable wilko.”

The homeware and stationery chain told online customers it is unable to deliver any orders, instead instructing shoppers to use its click and collect service or look for items in its stores. Today’s collapse comes almost a week after Wilko filed a notice of intent to appoint administrators, preparing itself for a potential insolvency.

The process provided the group with 10 working days to find a buyer for all or part of the business as it seeks to avoid going bust. The company was looking for a potential buyer and is understood to have held talks with interested parties.

Gordon Brothers, which owns the Laura Ashley brand, was reported to be among those to have held discussions over a possible to deal to secure Wilko’s future. Earlier this year, the retailer – which has around 400 shops and 12,000 employees – hired advisers from PwC in a bid to find a buyer to secure fresh funding to keep the firm trading.

Last year, Wilko agreed a deal to borrow £40 million from restructuring specialist Hilco after posting significant losses. Last Thursday, Wilko said it had “no choice” but to file for the potential insolvency but would continue a possible rescue takeover.

Announcing the insolvency preparations, chief executive Mark Jackson said: “While we can confirm we’ve had a significant level of interest, including indicative offers that we believe would meet all our financial criteria to recapitalise the business, at present we don’t today have an offer that provides the necessary liquidity in the time we have available, given the mounting cash pressures we’re faced with.”