The Range set to buy Wilko brand in £5m deal

The Range is set to agree to a deal to buy Wilko’s brand for around £5 million after the collapse of the high street retailer.

The sale could mean the Wilko name does not disappear from high streets for good.

Administrators at PwC have sought to sell off Wilko’s assets in recent weeks, including its brand and shops, after failing to secure a rescue deal for the whole business.

More than 10,000 further Wilko workers are set to lose their jobs by next month as a result.

The Range, which runs 210 stores across the UK, is understood to be finalising a deal to buy the Wilko name, meaning it would own the website and could stock some of its products across its own stores.

Rival low-cost retailers B&M and Poundland owner Pepco Group have already swooped in with agreements to acquire a number of stores.

Pepco sealed a deal for up to 71 stores which will see them reopen under the Poundland brand. The group also pledged to “prioritise” existing Wilko workers for roles when the shops are converted, likely to be by the end of the year.

B&M said it was buying 51 other Wilko shops, where it is understood that the majority will rebrand as B&M.

Wilko was originally founded by James Kemsey Wilkinson in Leicester in 1930.

The family-owned business employed 12,500 staff and ran 400 shops before it hired administrators early last month after it came under pressure from weak consumer spending and debts to suppliers.