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B&M purchase 51 Wilko shops
Retail big B&M has agreed to purchase 51 shops from Wilko directors – for a whopping £13 million. A earlier bid from M2 Capital – who beforehand purchased HMV shops – fell by way of final week, leaving many nervous. It’s believed this deal – to purchase as much as 300 of the areas – collapsed on account of Wilko’s money owed to suppliers.
Nonetheless, now retail park favorite B&M has introduced they are going to be taking on greater than 50 shops throughout the UK, with extra particulars on opening dates to return alongside B&M’s half-year financial outcomes this November.
B&M at present runs a staggering 1,150 shops throughout the UK and in France, and the bought Wilko shops are anticipated to rebrand as B&M.
At present, it’s unknown what is going to occur to the remaining Wilko shops. HMV proprietor Doug Putman remains to be in talks to take over some shops, nonetheless there’s an anxious anticipate hundreds of Wilko staff at present going through redundancy. When the agency introduced administration again in August, it employed over 12,500 folks.
Simply yesterday, nearly 270 staff on the Wilko assist centre misplaced their jobs within the firm’s head places of work.
It’s nonetheless unknown which Wilko shops have been purchased by B&M, and the areas are being saved underneath wraps. There may be additionally a lot dialogue being had in regards to the location of the present shops. Wilko shops are typically on the town and metropolis centres – helpful for these with out automobiles. Nonetheless, most B&M shops are simply out of those areas, in retail parks. So, will B&M create a brand new, inner-city mode of retail for themselves?
The sale of the 51 Wilko shops is believed to be sufficient to settle among the present debt held by the enterprise and also will be capable to pay for employees wages and different enterprise prices.
Right here at MoneyMagpie, we are going to hold you within the loop with all the most recent updates on this enormous deal. Because the low cost big B&M takes over a small chunk of Wilko shops, will different rivals step ahead to snap up these areas?