Troubled retailer Wilko suspends home deliveries amid risk of collapse

High street retailer Wilko has suspended all home deliveries amid a threat of insolvency, with around 12,000 jobs on the line.

The firm, which has some 400 shops across the UK, filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators at the High Court last week.

The boss of the homeware and hardware chain said it is expected to enter insolvency after failing to secure a takeover to help the business with “mounting cash pressures”.

Now, Wilko has told online customers it is unable to deliver any orders, instead instructing shoppers to use its click and collect service or look for items in its stores.

The chain has ten shops in Scotland:

Ayr
Edinburgh
Hamilton
Motherwell
Irvine
Falkirk
Castle Douglas
Livingston
Greenock
Clydebank

Filing for intent to appoint administrators on August 3 provided Wilko with ten working days to find a buyer for either all or part of the business, as it seeks to avoid collapsing entirely.

The company is looking for a potential buyer and is understood to have held talks with interested parties.

Gordon Brothers, which owns the Laura Ashley brand, is reported to be among those to have held discussions over a possible to deal to secure Wilko’s future.

Thank you for the love ❤️ Find your local store here and pop in – we'd love to see you https://t.co/fQof21OfbC pic.twitter.com/D2SP6luoQm
— wilko (@LoveWilko) August 4, 2023

Last year, the retailer agreed a deal to borrow £40m from restructuring specialist Hilco after posting significant losses.

The company said it had “no choice” but to file for the potential insolvency but will continue a possible rescue takeover.

Wilko chief executive officer Mark Jackson said previously: “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.”