(Reuters) – British discount retailer B&M said on Tuesday it will acquire 51 stores of collapsed Wilko, a month after the homeware and household goods discount retailer fell into administration.
The acquisition of the assets will be for a maximum consideration of 13 million pounds ($16.29 million), B&M added.
Wilko fell into administration in August after a buyer could not be found, putting its 400 stores and 12,500 jobs in danger.
Last month, Sky News reported that Canadian businessman Doug Putman was finalising a deal to buy a majority of Wilko from its administrators.
Wilko, which sells everything from hardware goods to cleaning products, toys and gardening equipment, has an annual turnover of 1.2 billion pounds.
It started in 1930 as a single hardware store in Leicester, central England, but fell victim to Britain’s tougher economic environment and cost of living crisis, grappling with high inflation and 14 consecutive interest rate rises since December 2021.
($1 = 0.7979 pounds)
(Reporting by Radhika Anilkumar in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen Soreng)
