All 400 Wilko stores to close by early October including 17 in London
Every Wilko store across the UK will have closed it's doors by early October, the GMB Union has said. A rescue deal for the family-owned chain has fallen through, meaning redundancies are likely for 12,500 staff. It's thought no bidders want to keep running the stores under Wilko's name, but some would be keen to rebrand. Among these was HMW owner Doug Putnam, who's said to have wanted to keep 300 stores open, but his bid fell through amid rising running costs. READ MORE: Disney Plus customers can watch for just £1.99 thanks to huge price slash - but it's only for a limited time In a statement to The Sun newspaper, Mr Putman said: “It is with great disappointment that we can no longer continue in the purchase process for Wilko having worked with administrators and suppliers over several weeks to seek a viable way to rescue it as a going concern.” Wilko, which employed around 12,500 staff, had already announced a £13 million deal to sell 51 shops to B&M, ...