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Nigel TAYLOR Published
August 30, 2025
There was more uncertainty surrounding Wilko late on Wednesday as the GMB union said that redundancy plans that had been put on hold could be restarted as soon as Thursday.
It claimed that an offer to buy the entire business hadn't passed some basic checks so far. And it added that the administrators have said they needed further information by close of play on Wednesday, without which they could restart the redundancy process.
The failed variety retailer's administrators PwC had earlier been criticised by bidder M2 Capital who’s questioning whether the sale process is “fair and transparent”.
As pressure mounts for a rescue deal to be made, the private equity firm wrote to the chair of PwC Bob Moritz on Tuesday to complain about the bidding process after submitting an offer of “more than £100 million”, reported The Times.
It came as the retailer’s employees appeared to have been given a reprieve as job cuts were put on hold while administrators considered last-minute bids.
In a letter seen by The Financial Times, the private equity firm said it had to submit its final offer and proof of financing on bank holiday Monday without having access to examine Wilko’s finances.
M2 Capital chairman Robert Mantse accused PwC of repeatedly “adding additional criteria to try to force M2C to not continue in the bidding process”.
M2 has vowed to retain all of its employees' jobs (as many as 12,500 people) for two years.
A spokesperson for PwC said: “We wholeheartedly reject the assertions and characterisations in this open letter. We are running a fair and transparent sales process, and remain focused on our duty to secure the best outcome for all creditors, while preserving as many jobs as possible.
“We are actively engaging with all interested parties, assessing the deliverability of all bids made and requesting necessary information. It would be inappropriate to comment on individual bidders or interested parties at this stage in the process.”
Several bidders have shown interested in retaining the Wilko name, plus many of its stores and staff, rather than letting it be broken up as had looked likely not that long ago.
Doug Putman, the Canadian businessman who turned around the fortunes at HMV has also emerged as a potential last-minute buyer for the retailer.
Rival value and discount retailers, including Pepco and B&M business, are thought to be among around 10 parties interested in acquiring some of Wilko's stores in a break-up.
Wilko, which has a strong beauty section in its stores, collapsed into administration earlier this month after struggling to recover from the pandemic and failing to secure backers or a buyer. It lost £38.7 million last year as sales fell 3.3% to £1.2 billion.