Wilko rescue hopes boosted as deal to save up to 200 stores and thousands of jobs edges closer

HOPES have been revived that as many as 200 Wilko stores can be saved as talks with HMV’s owner ramp up.

Sources said that all sides were now working towards a deal being announced next week that would preserve thousands of jobs.

Doug Putman, a Canadian entrepreneur that rescued HMV in 2019 and owns ToysRUs in Canada, is understood to have reached agreeable terms with suppliers who had been demanding upfront payment.

Mr Putman is now understood to be financing the deal out of cash from his other companies after talks with debt and restructuring firm Gordon Brothers fell apart this week.

In positive signs that the deal was being taken seriously, Wilko’s administrators at PwC are taking the terms to the Pension Protection Fund (PPF).

The PPF would act as the lifeboat for Wilko workers in the event of its liquidation but a scheme in the PPF typically results in a 10 per cent haircut for pensioners.

Doubts had grown about whether a wider rescue would be possible after Mr Putman faced resistance from suppliers and administrators looked as though they were starting to chop up the store estate.

Administrators announced 52 store closures this week, resulting in 1,333 job losses.

B&M Bargains also bought another 51 former Wilko stores in a £13 million deal.

Mr Putman had flown back to Canada after being given the impression that he was outbid by M2Capital, an investment firm fronted by former mining banker Robert Mantse.

However, Mr Mantse was kicked out of the process last week after not being able to prove that he had funding and grave doubts about his credibility.

Mr Mantse’s letter to lawyers included the line “I am half Hungarian aristocrat”.

Letters from PwC to Mr Mantse said that many of his “communications have been aggressive in nature and contained various expletives and threats including various messages left on WhatsApp voice notes for a PwC employee”.

Wilko collapsed into administration back in August after failing to find new backing for the business.

Shoppers took to social media to share their emotional tributes to Wilko when it first entered administration, with many comparing it to the loss of Woolworths.

Others were also looking forward to extra bargains ahead of Wilko launching an administration sale which has seen discounts of up to 50% on a range of items.

Chief executive officer, Mark Jackson, said that the company had “left no stone unturned” in a bid to save the chain.

In an emotional open letter to all staff and heartbroken shoppers, Mr Jackson thanked them for their support.

Founded by James Kemsey Wilkinson in 1930, the company’s first store opened on Charnwood Street under the Wilkinson Cash Stores brand.

In a heartfelt interview, Lisa Wilkinson, granddaughter of the chain’s founder, said that everybody put their “soul and heart” into saving the chain.