Online marketplace OnBuy has made a last-minute bid for collapsed retailer Wilko.
In a statement posted on LinkedIn, CEO Cas Paton said: “OnBuy made a last-minute bid on Wilko to try and keep the household brand part of English history for time to come – We’re waiting on news. Fingers crossed.”
The move comes as Paton recently told InternetRetailing that this year is “about scaling up” and “proving that OnBuy is still capable of delivering what retailers want in a post-Covid world”.
As a result, he revealed the company is already “well ahead” of its growth targets.
“We are not a start-up anymore, we are a scale-up business. Now, we’re trying to create more value and make things better for our retailers and improve processes,” Paton revealed. “This year it is all about making our platform better for our retailers and streamlining our operations to help customers have a better search, browse, and buying experience.”
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Administrators for the homeware retailer announced yesterday that it will start making job cuts in Wilko’s support teams from early next week.
As a result, redundancies at the retailer’s head office, distribution, and support centres will be taking place.
This comes as private equity firm, M2 Capital, placed an offer for the entire business, including its 400-store estate last Friday, however, failed PwC’s due diligence checks.
In a statement, joint administrator Jane Steer said: “It’s with great sadness that we announce these redundancies. We’re incredibly grateful to these team members for the support and dedication they’ve shown to the company, particularly over the last few very difficult weeks.
“We will continue to do all that we can to support staff through this period of difficult upheaval, and to maximise their opportunities for a rapid return to work.
“Our priority is to ensure that all team members affected by redundancy are assisted in processing their claims with immediate effect.
“We will be circulating correspondence to all staff as soon as possible which will outline the support available to complete redundancy payment forms. Advice and assistance will also be available from Job Centre Plus and other agencies.”
