398
Size of wilko's retail store portfolio
Our role
Successfully trading the company in administration, while managing its wind down
Featuring
200+ experts from across PwC UK
The administration of high street stalwart wilko is one of the largest seen in the retail sector for over a decade. Managing this complex, large-scale project meant drawing on expertise from over 200 firm specialists, across Restructuring, Legal, Tax, Pensions, PwC Operate and Corporate Affairs.
Our workstreams included trading the business in administration across 398 retail stores, running a sales process, communicating with 12,000 employees, managing high volumes of media and political enquiries and handling a property portfolio of over 400 properties throughout the UK, all while managing more than 100 supplier relationships throughout the trading period.
Setting the scene
Incorporated in 1941, wilko was a family-run hardware and homeware retailer, which expanded from a single Leicester shop in the 1930s to nearly 400 stores nationwide.
From 2021 onwards, the company faced severe challenges. These included reduced footfall due to shifts towards online shopping and out-of-town stores, supply chain disruptions from Covid and economic pressures from high inflation. Declining market share, costly high street locations, high operational costs and reduced stock availability further strained the business.
Our work
On appointment in August 2023, we committed to an eight-week trading period to maximise the value from stock held, and to provide a platform to ensure the business had the best chance of being taken on as a going concern. We also ran a sales process in parallel, reviewing all rescue options, with a view to transacting all or part of the business.
We sold the online business and brand to The Range, and assigned leases for properties through agreements with B&M and Pepco. We then managed the exit and closure of wilko’s remaining store portfolio, surrendering properties to landlords appropriately, and realised assets including stock, freehold and long leasehold properties.
We supported over 12,000 employees throughout the process, managing 1,800 inbound telephone calls to our dedicated helpline and over 13,000 emails. The team worked closely with the Redundancy Payments Service (RPS) to achieve a record time of less than a day for processing and submitting statutory redundancy payments. Extensive meetings with union representatives were held and we helped facilitate jobs fairs with Jobcentre Plus and other large retailers.
We maintained open communications channels with Government stakeholders including the Department for Business and Trade, the Department for Work and Pensions and local MPs, ensuring they remained informed of ongoing developments, and managed extensive press interest.
“This administration was one of the most complex and high-profile retail cases we've handled. Being a multidisciplinary and purpose-driven team meant we could adapt and respond to these challenges in an agile and streamlined way. The team's dedication and expertise ensured that we maximised value, supported employees and maintained transparent communication throughout the process, ultimately securing a future for the wilko brand on the high street.”
Jane Steer
Lead Administrator on wilko and Partner at PwC UK
Our impact
We assigned 50 properties to B&M, 71 properties to Pepco and sold the freeholds to five sites, reducing the impact of empty units on the high street. Further sales of freehold properties are expected to bring in substantial realisations, all contributing to a reduction in claim volumes and increasing returns to creditors.
The Administrators also achieved £7m for the sale of the wilko brand to The Range, which included the transfer of its employees. The sale of the brand has ensured that wilko is now back on the high street, with five stores open already and more planned in the near future.
Secured creditors will be repaid in full, and we anticipate being able to secure a multi-million pound dividend for secondary preferential and unsecured creditor claims.
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