Wilko rescue deal to cost investor £70m

Any rescue of stricken Nottinghamshire retailer Wilko will cost an investor up to £70m, it has emerged.

Reports suggest that Wilko’s adviser, PwC, is in talks with an unnamed rival discount retailer and a pair of private equity firms in a race to find a buyer for the discount retailer.

Wilko posted a notice of intention (NOI) to appoint administrators last Thursday, putting 12,000 jobs at risk.

The Sunday Times says that Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group and Hilco, which has already pumped millions into propping Wilko up, are not in the running to launch a rescue deal.

It it estimated that any buyer will need to spend up to £30m to get stock through to Wilko stores – empty shelves have been a fixture for some time – while another £40m will be needed to pay off Hilco.

When Wilko filed its NOI last week, CEO Mark Jackson said: “While we can confirm we’ve had a significant level of interest, including indicative offers that we believe would meet all our financial criteria to recapitalise the business, at present, we don’t today have an offer that provides the necessary liquidity in the time we have available, given the mounting cash pressures we’re faced with.”