Wilko rescue deal with HMV owner fails as fears grow over thousands of job losses

Canadian billionaire Putman had been working on a deal that aimed to keep up to 300 Wilko shops open, but his bid to keep the business afloat failed as rising costs complicated any deal.

The collapse of the deal leaves the future of Wilko’s more than 10,000 workers and hundreds of stores facing an uncertain future.

Some of Wilko’s remaining stores could be sold to rival retailers, such as Poundland or The Range.

Administrator PwC is expected to announce details of further job losses and store closures in the coming days.

The struggling chain announced in August that it had collapsed into administration, leaving the future of its 12,500 workers in limbo.

Administrators have already announced the closures of 51 Wilko stores across the UK, with the loss of 1,016 jobs.

A further 299 redundancies have been made at its two distribution centres in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, and Newport, Wales, with a further 260 redundancies at its support centre.

Value retailer B&M has agreed a separate deal to purchase 51 Wilko sites, but it is unclear whether the staff who work at those stores would form part of the transaction.