Wilko have announced they are planning to appoint administrators as the homeware and hardware chain is expected to enter insolvency putting 12,000 jobs at risk.
On Thursday Wilko filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators at the High Court after failing to secure a takeover which would have helped with “mounting cash pressures.”
The company which has around 400 shops have hired advisors from PwC to find a buyer to keep Wilko trading.
Wilko said that they had “no choice” but to file for potential insolvency.
Wilko 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.
“Unfortunately, with this in mind, today we’re having to take the difficult decision to file a notice of intention.
“We’ll continue to progress discussions with interested parties with the aim of completing a transaction which preserves the business and will encourage those interested parties we’re in discussions with to move as fast as possible.
“We continue to believe that our robust turnaround plan, with significant re-stabilisation cost savings in progress, will deliver a profitable Wilko and maximise the significant opportunities that we know exist.”
Andy Prendergast, national secretary at the GMB union, said: “This is extremely concerning but we remain hopeful that a buyer can be found.
“Wilko’s staff deserve reassurance that their jobs are safe.
“We hope this is the number one priority going forward.”
