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POUNDLAND has snapped up dozens of Wilko stores – including one Scottish branch.
Administrators have announced that the discounter has agreed to buy up 71 of the shops – as many branches closed for good today.
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Owners Pepco have reached an agreement with the view to opening the sites as Poundland stores.
The new rebranded stores will open by the end of the year with lease agreements set by the end of Autumn.
The 71 sites will add to Poundland’s 800 UK shops, which includes a mixture of high street and retail park stores.
The Greenock Wilko store in Inverclyde has been included in new deal.
Workers at the Wilko stores won’t be transferred directly as part of the move, but Poundland has said it will “prioritise” existing Wilko workers for roles when the shops are opened.
Poundland’s 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.”
Edward Williams, joint administrator, said: “Alongside the previously announced agreement with B&M, we’re confident this sale will create a platform for future employment opportunities for people including current wilko team members at up to 122 locations.
“We will continue to engage with other retailers around any interest in other wilko sites and are confident of completing a sale of the brand and intellectual property within the coming days.”
Poundland and B&M will be reopening the stores they have bought under their own names.
The first 52 closures began today, with 24 shops shutting for good by the end of the day.
A further 28 sites will close on Thursday this week, resulting in over 1,000 redundancies.
Another 124 stores are set to shut next week in three rounds of closures on Sunday 17, Tuesday 19 and September 21.
Administrators reported yesterday that timings for the remaining 222 closures will be announced in due course.
Previously we told how Tesco has made a heartfelt gesture to thousands of Wilko staff after talks to save hundreds of the historic retailer’s shops fell apart.
The supermarket giant is encouraging devastated Wilko workers to apply for 3,500 vacant roles across the UK.
The Works, Hobbycraft and Dunelm have also offered guaranteed interviews to all Wilko staff.
It comes after Administrators at PwC said that all Wilko’s shops would close by early October, with 9,100 staff set to lose their jobs.
The news today comes after a £13million deal with B&M was announced last week, with the chain agreeing to buy up to 51 stores.
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