The British chain of discount stores Wilko has announced this Thursday that it will declare bankruptcy, after the company’s efforts to find a buyer have failed, leaving some 12,000 jobs in the air.
“We left no stone unturned when it came to preserving this incredible business, but we must admit that it is with regret that we have no choice but to make the difficult decision to go into administration,” company CEO Mark Announced on Thursday. Jackson.
In this sense, the executive has regretted that, although the company received “a significant level of interest”, including indicative offers that could meet the financial criteria to recapitalize the business, without the certainty of being able to complete the deal within the framework of necessary time and given the cash position, “there has been no choice but to take this unfortunate measure.
The chain, whose origins date back to a hardware store in Leicester in 1930, thus becomes one of the biggest victims of the impact on consumption of the rise in the cost of living and the rise in credit after 14 consecutive rate hikes of interest in the UK from December 2021.
The British union GMB has expressed its solidarity with the Wilko workers, stating that their entry into receivership was “an avoidable disaster” that puts 12,000 jobs at risk due to mismanagement.