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Canadian businessman Doug Putman has reportedly made a last-ditch attempt to rescue parts of Wilko in a move that could save up to 4,000 jobs, The Times has reported.
According to The Times, Putman, who purchased HMV in 2019, has held talks with Wilko’s management team and administrators from PwC ahead of this evening’s (25 August) final deadline for offers.
It reported that his offer would see around half of the 400 shops and up to 4,000 Wilko staff retained. He would reportedly continue to run it under the Wilko brand if a deal was secured.
Despite these reports, the Times said it understands that Wilko CEO Mark Jackson has told senior staff that the deal is unlikely to happen.
A source also suggested that PwC would ultimately decide to put Wilko into liquidation.
In addition, the BBC reported that Putman’s offer was “unlikely to meet legal requirements”, and even in the case of a deal, he would be unable to stop the closure of the majority of stores as well as its depots and head offices.
PwC has declined to comment at this time.
