Skip to content
Search
AI Powered
Latest Stories

B&M snaps up 51 Wilko stores

B&M snaps up 51 Wilko stores
(Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images

Discounter B&M has agreed to buy 51 stores from the collapsed discounter Wilko, state latest reports after talks with the billionaire owner of HMV for a larger rescue deal hit a snag.

The Liverpool headquartered B&M said today (5) that it had secured a deal to buy the tranche of Wilko stores for £13 million. It is unclear what the impact will be for Wilko staff.


B&M, one of the UK’s most successful discount retailers with a market value of £5bn and 1,100 outlets nationwide and in France, declared the acquisition of 51 stores in an update to investors, saying that the consideration is fully funded from "existing cash reserves and the acquisition is not expected to be conditional on any regulatory clearances".

While the company did not say if any staff would be kept on, its statement suggests that the sites are set to be relaunched, under its brand, within weeks.

"An update on the timing of these new store openings will be provided in the... interim results announcement on 9 November 2023."

B&M has not confirmed which Wilko shops it has bought.

Administrators at PwC are also in talks with other potential suitors including Poundland, Home Bargains and The Range about saving some of Wilko’s stores.

The move by B&M comes as a deal tabled by the Canadian entrepreneur Doug Putman to save the majority of Wilko stores hangs in the balance. The rescue deal proposed by Putman, who is known for engineering the turnaround of HMV in the UK, was aimed to save 300 of Wilko’s 400 stores, throwing a lifeline to its more than 12,000 staff.

Wilko was founded in 1930 and by the 1990s became one of Britain's fastest-growing retailers. But the discount chain has faced strong competition from rivals including B&M, Poundland and Home Bargains, as the high cost of living has pushed shoppers to seek out bargains.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, told News Sky, "Wilko's collapse is B&M's gain, given that the successful value retailer had made no secret of wanting to open more shops across the UK. The soon-to-be vacant premises were easy picking for B&M and it is likely that the retailer has been ultra-choosy when it comes to cherry picking locations."

More for you

Budget 2024: Local shops to face significant new pressure

(Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

(Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Budget 2024: Local shops to face significant new pressure

Local shops will face significant new pressures as a result of today’s Budget, the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has warned.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves' budget's impact will be felt unevenly across the UK’s 50,000 convenience stores, with some measures such as business rate relief and the increased employment allowance mitigating costs for smaller independent stores, while providing no help for chains and larger independent businesses.

Keep ReadingShow less
Post Office cash deposits and withdrawals
Post Office, DPD partners to rollout ‘Click and Collect’ services
Post Office, DPD partners to rollout ‘Click and Collect’ services

Parliament to launch inquiry into Post Office Horizon scandal compensation delays

Parliament is to launch an inquiry into delays in compensation settlements for sub postmasters affected by the Horizon scandal.

The newly-formed Business and Trade Select Committee will call ministers, subpostmasters and their lawyers to give evidence next week with a second session to follow in mid-November. The Committee’s chair, Liam Byrne MP told ITV News that there was “definitely a delay” in people coming forward for payment.

Keep ReadingShow less
Bacup Wine and Convenience shop, 34 Burnley Road, Bacup.

Bacup Wine and Convenience shop, 34 Burnley Road, Bacup.

Robbie MacDonald via LDRS

Shop’s licence bid rejected over illegal vapes and ‘no regard’ for children’s safety

A Rossendale shop has had a licence bid rejected after repeatedly selling vapes to children and having illegal products on its premises.

Management at the Ibra Superstore at 34 Burnley Road, Bacup, have shown ‘no regard’ for children’s protection and safety, and have insufficient controls for licensing, Rossendale councillors have ruled.

Keep ReadingShow less
SPAR retailer hits target to secure £100,000 free stock from James Hall

SPAR retailer hits target to secure £100,000 free stock from James Hall

SPAR North of England retailer Dara Singh Randhawa’s family store has been awarded £100,000 of free stock after hitting all his targets since moving to the symbol.

Dara and his family, who have their SPAR store in Patrington in the East Riding of Yorkshire, joined SPAR through its association with James Hall & Co. Ltd in August 2023 having taken the decision to maximise the store’s potential.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pound Sterling bank notes
iStock

National Living Wage to increase to £12.21 in April 2025

The government has on Wednesday announced its acceptance of the Low Pay Commission’s (LPC) recommendations on the rates of the National Minimum Wage (NMW), including the National Living Wage (NLW).

The rates which will apply from 1 April 2025 are as follows:

Keep ReadingShow less