Poundland owner to acquire up to 71 Wilko stores

The owner of Poundland has agreed to take on the leases of dozens of Wilko shops – including five in Yorkshire and Humber.

Pepco Group, which owns Poundland in the UK, is expected to convert a total of up to 71 Wilko stores to the Poundland brand.

In Yorkshire these include the Wilko branches at Grimsby, Headingley, Hessle Road – Hull, Northallerton and Pontefract.

Pepco Group has said Wilko staff will have priority when applying for new jobs at the Poundland shops.

The agreement follows news that B&M has also agreed to buy 51 of Wilko’s buildings in a £13m deal. The sites included in the B&M agreement remain subject to a confidentiality agreement.

Edward Williams, joint administrator from PwC, said: “Alongside the previously announced agreement with B&M, we’re confident this sale will create a platform for future employment opportunities for people including current Wilko team members at up to 122 locations.

“We will continue to engage with other retailers around any interest in other Wilko sites and are confident of completing a sale of the brand and intellectual property within the coming days.”