Redundancies on hold at Wilko as rescue bids for chain considered

Redundancies are on hold at the high street chain Wilko while administrators consider further bids for the company.

The GMB union says that the chain's administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) will not be proceeding with redundancies while it looks into the bids.

Wilko tumbled into administration two weeks ago, and administrators have sought offers from interested firms in an effort to save jobs and stores.

It's reported that a second last-minute bid worth £90 million has been made by restructuring specialist M2 Capita.

It comes after Canadian businessman Doug Putman, who bought music retailer HMV in 2019, was believed to be making an offer.

The chain was founded in Leicester with the first shop opening in 1930, and since then has grown to more than 400 stores across the country, with the headquarters in Worksop in Nottinghamshire.

The union, which represents more than 3,000 of Wilko's 12,500 staff, said it met with administrators on Tuesday morning.

Andy Prendergast, GMB national secretary, said: "All redundancies at Wilko have been suspended while the administrator considers further bids.

"Whilst this is a positive development, Wilko is not out of the woods by any means and this is a time of incredible stress and worry for the 12,500 workers who face losing their jobs."

In a statement, PwC told ITV News; "Since our appointment as administrators of wilko we have worked relentlessly to secure a sale of the business. We are actively engaging with all interested parties and assessing the deliverability of all bids made.

“As administrators we’re intent on achieving the best outcome for everyone involved while preserving as many jobs as possible and adhering to our statutory duty to act in the best interests of the creditors as a whole.

“It would be inappropriate to comment on individual bidders or interested parties at this stage in the process.”