Wilko owes businesses in the North East and North Yorkshire £9.7m
On Sunday (October 8), Wilko closed the doors of its remaining high street stores for the final time, including in Middlesbrough, as the 93-year-old retailer’s collapse came to an end.
The discount hardware and home furnishings chain closed its 400 stores in the UK last month after falling into administration in August.
Read more: Middlesbrough Wilko will be one of the last stores to close
This will bring to an end one of the biggest high street bankruptcies in recent years, with almost all of Wilko’s 12,500 employees being made redundant.
Wilko was originally founded in Leicester in 1930 by James Kemsey Wilkinson.
The family-owned business hired administrators from PwC after coming under pressure from weak consumer spending and supplier debts.
PwC then held discussions with interested companies, but was unable to conclude a rescue agreement for the entire company as a possible takeover by HMV owner Doug Putman failed.
As a result, the administrators sold off much of the company’s assets to pay off creditors.
Agreements have been reached to sell up to 71 stores to Poundland and up to 51 stores to rival discount retailer B&M. However, no personnel were included in either deal.
Last week Poundland said it had offered jobs to more than 200 former Wilko employees and had already reopened 20 of those sites under its brand.
Wilko’s administrators confirmed in filings last week that the company had debts of around £625 million when it went bust.
The documents also show the retailer’s pension fund has a deficit of more than £50m and is unlikely to receive more than £4m following the bankruptcy process.
The documents show Wilko owes businesses in the North East and North Yorkshire a total of £9.7m.
Get more from The Northern Echo with a Premium Plus digital subscription from just £1.50 per week. Click here.
This includes debts of £8.8m at Procter & Gamble in Harrogate, debts of £399,555 at Accuruent in North Shields and debts of £323,490 at Tor Coatings in Birtley.
Other creditors include International Cookware in Seaham and Derandd Investment Partners Ltd in Durham.
Here is a full list of the companies Wilko owes money to in the North East and North Yorkshire:
- Derandd Investment Partners Ltd, Durham – £26,500
- Knight Frank, Newcastle – £1861 (£5457 in a separate list of creditors)
- Maybourn Ltd, Newcastle – £29,700
- Redfern Building Services, Bishop Auckland – £51,229
- Safetech, Sunderland – £2441
- Gentoo, Sunderland – £14,500
- Accuruent, North Shields – £399,855
- Gateshead Council – £12,877
- Mobile Mini UK, Stockton – £205
- Tor Coatings, Birtley – £323,490
- Nuby UK, Boldon – £49,324
- International Cookware, Seaham – £7025
