Confirmed closure dates for Derbyshire Wilko stores as hundreds of branches across country begin to shut

Wilko entered administration last month and, after a rescue deal led by HMV owner Doug Putman fell through, all of its stores are set to close by early October.

Staff at a total of 124 Wilko branches have been informed by administrators PwC that their stores will be closing on or before Thursday, September 21 – including a number of Derbyshire locations listed below:

Alfreton – Tuesday, September 19.

Matlock – Tuesday, September 19.

Long Eaton – Tuesday, September 19.

Belper – Tuesday, September 19.

Allestree – Thursday, September 21.

Timings for the closure of the remaining 222 stores will be announced in due course.

The closure of distribution centre operations is expected to take place on Friday, September 15, with the majority of the remaining 886 employees at these centres being made redundant on that date. Further redundancies of the remaining 210 support centre employees will take place during September and early October as operations wind down.

The administrators’ dedicated employee team will continue to help provide support, including assisting in the statutory redundancy claims process and ensuring the dedicated employee helpline remains in place to address any employee queries. Company support systems with access to further advice and resources will remain active.

The administrators continue to liaise closely with the government, agencies, unions and large employers to help create avenues to further employment opportunities for staff, with the aim of helping team members quickly return to employment. This includes any and all transactions that may lead to stores opening quickly under other brands as a platform for future employment.

Zelf Hussain, joint administrator from PwC, said: “Despite the significant and intensive efforts of both ourselves and Putman Investments – the remaining party interested in buying a significant part of the business as a going concern – a transaction could not be progressed due to the inability to reduce central infrastructure costs quickly enough to make a deal commercially viable.

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“The dedication shown by all team members during this period has been hugely humbling and we are grateful for the patience and understanding they have shown. As with those who have already been given notice of redundancy, we will guide and support those team members impacted over the coming weeks through the redundancy claims process. We also continue to collaborate closely with relevant agencies and engage with any potential employers to help facilitate a quick return into new employment for those impacted.

“We continue to work with potential buyers for different parts of the business and are confident of completing transactions in the coming days.”