Thousands of Jobs at Risk with Poundland on Brink of Administration
High street giant Poundland is on the brink of administration, putting around 12,000 jobs at risk. The retailer is set to file a notice of intention to appoint administrators, giving the business 10 working days to secure a potential rescue deal.
Poundland has not yet filed the notice, but is preparing to do so imminently.
Poundland managing director Barry Williams told staff in a memo that the situation is “unexpected, unwanted and wholly avoidable”.
The discount chain is due to enter insolvency after owner Gordon Brothers rejected a takeover offer from Irish real estate firm Martin Property Group, which management named as their preferred bidder earlier this month.
Gordon Brothers – which only bought Poundland last year for £1 – launched a sale process for the retailer at the start of September.
Wilko and The Range owner CDS Superstores, Poundstretcher owner Fortress and TG Jones owner Modella are all understood to be interested in buying parts of the Poundland business.
The retailer has appointed advisers at AlixPartners to oversee the insolvency process and assess offers to buy all or part of the business.
Poundland currently runs around 600 stores across the UK.
Gordon Brothers oversaw a major turnaround programme at Poundland that included closing more than 100 shops over the past year to shore up its finances.