More than 50 Wilko stores will close next week and over one-thousand staff will be made redundant it has been confirmed.
Administrators PwC have confirmed the closure of 52 stores and redundancies of 1,016 staff based at these sites, as well as a further 299 redundancies at the two distribution centres in Worksop and Newport.
24 of the stores, named earlier today, will close next Tuesday (September 12), while the remaining 28 will close on Thursday.
Edward Williams, joint administrator, said: “In the absence of viable offers for the whole business, very sadly store closures and redundancies of team members from those stores are now necessary, in addition to the already announced redundancies at the support centre and distribution centres.
“We know this has been a deeply unsettling time for everyone concerned and would like to express our gratitude to all Wilko team members for the dedication and support they have continued to give the business in the most trying of circumstances.”
Yesterday, it was announced that discount retailer B&M has entered into an agreement with the administrators to acquire up to 51 properties in a deal worth £13m.
Wilko – a long running discount store chain, was born in Leicester back in 1930. There are a total of 408 stores nationwide.
It fell into administration last month with efforts to save it ongoing ever since.
The 24 Wilko stores due to close on 12 September:
Acton, Aldershot, Barking, Bishop Auckland, Bletchley FF, Brownhills, Camberley, Cardiff Bay Retail Park, Falmouth, Harpurhey, Irvine, Liverpool Edge Lane, Llandudno, Lowestoft, Morley, Nelson, Port Talbot, Putney, Stafford, Tunbridge Wells, Wakefield, Weston-super-Mare, Westwood Cross, Winsford.
The 28 Wilko stores due to close on the 14 September:
Ashford, Avonmeads, Banbury, Barrow in Furness, Basildon, Belle Vale, Burnley (Relocation), Clydebank, Cortonwood, Dagenham, Dewsbury, Eccles, Folkestone, Great Yarmouth, Hammersmith, Huddersfield, Morriston, New Malden, North Shields, Queen Street Cardiff, Rhyl, Southampton-West Quay, St Austell, Stockport, Truro, Uttoxeter, Walsall, Woking.
