Wilko has said it plans to appoint administrators, putting about 12,000 jobs at the high street retailer at risk.
The boss of the homeware and hardware chain said it is expected to enter insolvency after failing to secure a takeover to help the business with “mounting cash pressures”.
It has four stores in North Yorkshire. One is on Stirling Road at Clifton Moor in York, another is in the Abbey Walk Shopping Centre in Selby. Then there’s one on Northallerton High Street, and a fourth in the Balmoral Centre, Scarborough.
In total Wilko has about 400 shops. It filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators at the High Court on Thursday.
Wilko chief executive Mark Jackson said: “While we can confirm we’ve had a significant level of interest, including indicative offers that we believe would meet all our financial criteria to recapitalise the business, at present we don’t today have an offer that provides the necessary liquidity in the time we have available, given the mounting cash pressures we’re faced with.
“Unfortunately, with this in mind, today we’re having to take the difficult decision to file a notice of intention.
“We’ll continue to progress discussions with interested parties with the aim of completing a transaction which preserves the business and will encourage those interested parties we’re in discussions with to move as fast as possible.
“We continue to believe that our robust turnaround plan, with significant re-stabilisation cost savings in progress, will deliver a profitable Wilko and maximise the significant opportunities that we know exist.”
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