Poundland owner Pepco Group has agreed to take control of up to 71 Wilko store leases from administrator PwC in a new last-minute deal.
The discount chain’s parent company now expects to convert stores to the Poundland brand while offering roles for Wilko team members as it looks to continue its own transformation programme.
In Leicestershire, Wilko stores earmarked for rebranding include Coalville, Melton Mowbray and Leicester’s Charles Street store.
A spokesman for Poundland said the stores in the deal were mostly in locations where it currently has a “limited presence”. The company said Wilko staff would have priority when applying for new jobs at the Poundland shops.
“The lease assignments are expected to be completed in early Autumn, enabling these stores to join Poundland’s existing 800-plus UK estate and open in the important fourth calendar quarter of 2023,” he added.
Poundland managing director Barry Williams said: “In the coming weeks we will work quickly with landlords so we can open these stores as Poundlands with the new ranges that have been pivotal to our recent development.
“And once that process is complete, we will ensure a significant number of the Wilko colleagues will join our Poundland team.”
The news comes a week after Wilko’s other discount chain rival, B&M, bought up to 51 stores which will all be transformed into B&M shops.
The 122 sites included in the agreements with Pepco and B&M employ more than 3,200 staff in total.
