Hundreds of jobs to go in Worksop after last minute rescue deal collapses with Wilko

The cuts come after a deal to buy the business fell through when the bidder failed to file paperwork in time.

Private equity firm M2 Capital said it made a £90m bid for Wilko but was unable to provide proof of funding.

A statement issued by administrators PwC reads: “Since their appointment, the administrators have been working closely with wilko, its employees and suppliers and have considered multiple varied bids and expressions of interest related to the group.

"While discussions continue with those interested in buying parts of the business, it is now clear that no viable offer structure put forward includes the group in its entirety.

"It has therefore been necessary to assess the roles required in Wilko’s Support Centre in Worksop and distribution centres in Worksop and Newport.

"Sadly, today the decision has had to be taken to make 269 Support Centre team member roles redundant, effective from close of business on Monday September 4 - with further redundancies across the two distribution centres from early next week (exact numbers to be confirmed).

"The administration’s dedicated employee team will continue to work with HR and payroll to provide support to team members during this deeply unsettling time, including assisting in the statutory redundancy claims process with the Redundancy Payments Service.”

The retailer, which employs around 12,500 people across the country collapsed earlier this month.

Reacting to the news, Councillor James Naish, Leader of Bassetlaw District Council, said: “The latest news reported today is another blow to our hopes to see Wilko as a whole rescued. However, we continue to be in regular contact with the administrators, the unions and other stakeholders to ensure that we are ready to support Wilko employees affected by this latest development when and as required.

“Protecting as many workers as possible should remain everyone's top priority at this time and we are proactively looking at all options locally to keep the Bassetlaw site active. It is vitally important that sustainable offers are quickly but fully assessed by the administrators, and we welcome engagement from organisations that are able to provide certainty to the Wilko workforce.”