Wilko administrator denies plans to close stores next week but redundancies still expected

Yorkshire Post

Wilko administrator PwC denies that it plans to close stores next week, but notes store closures and redundancies still likely, Business Reporter Michael Crossland reports.

Transcript

00:00 Hello I'm Michael Crosland, Business Reporter with the Yorkshire Post and we just have a

00:03 brief update today from High Street Retailer Wilco which fell into administration earlier

00:09 this month. PwC, the administrator of Wilco, has now denied that it plans to close stores

00:16 next week after GMB, which is the union which represents around 3,000 Wilco staff, claimed

00:22 it had been told the chain was set to close the majority of its stores next week and announced

00:26 a raft of redundancies as a result. PwC said that claims it was to close stores next week

00:32 were just speculation. Wilco entered administration earlier this month putting around 12,500 jobs

00:40 at risk across its 400 stores. Administrators were seeking a potential buyer for the business

00:46 with a deadline of last Wednesday for firms to declare interest. GMB union however announced

00:53 today that it had been told in a meeting there is no longer any prospect of the majority

00:58 of the business being saved. The BBC has also reported today PwC as saying that while discussions

01:05 continue with those interested in buying parts of the business, it's clear the nature of

01:10 this interest is not focused on the whole group and therefore it is likely that there

01:16 will be redundancies and store closures in the future. It should be noted that some parts

01:22 of the business may still be bought either individually or as part of packages. Rival

01:27 firms Poundland, B&M, The Range and Home Bargains have been reported to be among the businesses

01:33 interested in buying parts of Wilco. That's all we have on Wilco at the minute, I'm Michael

01:40 Crossland reporting for the Yorkshire Post.

01:41 (footsteps)

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