East London Wilko stores at risk amidst administration plan

East London’s Wilko stores are at risk of shutting after the chain said it plans to enter administration.

The home and hardware chain, which has around 400 stores, announced today (August 3) it had filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators at the High Court, putting 12,000 jobs at risk nationally.

The chain has seven east London shops: Romford, East Ham, Walthamstow, Dagenham, Ilford, Barking and Stratford.

Mark Jackson, Wilko chief executive, said: “Today we’re having to take the difficult decision to file a notice of intention.

“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.”

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Earlier this year, Wilko hired advisers from PwC, a multinational professional services provider, in a bid to find to a buyer to secure funding and keep the firm trading.

In 2022, the retailer agreed a deal to borrow £40 million from restructuring specialist Hilco after posting significant losses.

Mr Jackson added: “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,” he added.

Additional reporting by PA.