Wilko redundancies 'put on hold' as rival bids considered - GMB

(Sharecast News) - Redundancies for 12,500 workers at collapsed retail chain Wilko have been suspended while administrators consider rescue bids for the business, the GMB union said on Tuesday

The GMB union met with administrator PwC after calling for an urgent meeting with the business secretary as the discount homeware goods chain teeters on the brink after struggling from inflationary pressures, competition from rivals and supply chain challenges.

Its 400 branches have stayed open since then in the hope a buyer can be found. GMB national secretary Andy Prendergast warned that Wilko was "not out of the woods yet by any means", although he said the current pause was a "positive development".

On Monday, the union wrote to business secretary Kemi Badenoch, suggesting that bidders had reported "difficulties" engaging with PwC, the administrators.

PwC said it was working "relentlessly" to secure a sale of the retailer and "talks are continuing with a number of parties". A number of last-minute bids to buy parts of the business have been proposed, including from HMV owner Doug Putman, B&M European Retail and Poundland's owner Pepco Group.

Another potential offer has emerged from M2, a restructuring specialist that claims to own the Como hotels group and is in the process of buying the Michigan-based car parts maker Superior Industries. M2 is understood to have put forward a bid that would keep the entire Wilko chain trading, the Guardian reported.

M2 has written to administrators questioning whether the bid process was "fair and transparent" as it was given a deadline to provide details of its funding on a UK bank holiday, it added.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com