Usdaw, the shopworkers’ union, has warned that Walsall-based Poundland could fall into administration within days, putting 12,000 jobs in peril.
The warning has come as the owner, Gordon Brothers, decides between rival bids to buy out the discount chain.
Where are the bids at?
Last year, Gordon Brothers purchased Poundland from Pepco for just one pound. Since then, the owner has hired Alvarez and Marsal to find a buyer for the chain.
Martin Property Group, an Irish firm backed by managing director Barry Williams and former Asda boss Andy Bond, has been the only bidder reported to be seeking a solvent deal for the entire business. Meanwhile, Fortress (which owns rival firm, Poundstretcher) has reportedly dropped its bid to purchase the entire chain. It’s now only seeking to purchase between 200 to 250 of Poundland’s ~530 UK stores.
Other potential buys are reported to be interested such as Modella Capital, which owns TG Jones and Hobbycraft, as well as Hilco Capital, Henderson Property Group, as well as Aldi and Lidl for some stores.
Gordon Brothers has reportedly told bidders they must repay a £30m shareholder loan. Usdaw fears this could be used to trigger administration.
Trading is improving despite the issues
Like-for-like sales returned to growth, up 3.3% in the fourth quarter and 9.8% in the first week of the new financial year. The recovery plan so far has seen the store return to £1, £2 and £3 grocery price points, cease selling frozen food, close its online shop and relaunch its Pep&Co clothing range.
The estate has already decreased its range of stores. Closing around 200 stores, bringing the total number of stores across the UK down from 800 to 600. Several stores within the West Midlands were among the closures.
Already a bleak economic picture in the West Midlands
The West Midlands already has the second-highest unemployment rate of any UK region in May to July 2026 at 5.6% whilst the UK rate was 4.9%. The economic inactivity rate paints a bleak picture too, standing at around 23%.
In a region already near the bottom for employment, losing a major head office such as Poundland, as well as hundreds of local shop jobs would hit hard. Discount stores such as Poundland also serve many of the region’s lower-income communities.
And what about the UK economy?
For the UK, the economic outlook isn’t quite so bad. The IMF has reportedly raised its UK growth forecast from 1% to 1.3% and like-for-like sales grew by 1% year on year in September – up from 0.5% in August.
However, proposed redundancies hit 50,904 in September, the highest since October 2020 and big retailers such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, M&S and the Co-op have warned that further taxes would push up prices ahead of the budget due later this month. Other retailers such as Poundland can only be worried about these same concerns.
What happens next?
What happens next remains murky. Until a deal is reached to sell the business or it officially goes into administration, the future remains uncertain.
