Firms’ ‘interest’ in former Wilko headquarters
MORE VIEWINGS SCHEDULED AT WORKSOP SITE
WILKO’S administrator says firms are “interested” in the company’s former HQ as it attempts to pay back creditors who are owed more than £300m.
Pricewaterhousecoopers (PWC) has issued an update on the winding up of the failed shops chain, based at Manton Wood Enterprise Park in Worksop until its collapse last year.
All its shops were closed by late last year and more than 12,000 workers were made redundant, with the national chain’s failure attributed to a failure to adapt to changing customer habits and strong competition.
Since the collapse, PWC has been selling off the company’s assets to pay back more than 700 creditors who are in total owed £306m.
In a Companies House document, submitted by PWC, the firm outlined it was now attempting to sell Wilko’s head office at JK House in Worksop.
“There has already been some interest in the property, with a number of parties having viewed the site and more viewings scheduled,” its report explained.
PWC said a further update would be provided in its next report.
The former head office was fully vacated on November 3, PWC added.
Commercial property agent Sanderson Weatherall, appointed to sell the complex by PWC, explained that the property extends to around 10,882 sq m over its ground and first floors, occupying an area of 3.04 hectares.
It includes 300 parking spaces, a mock Wilko store and a wooded area on the opposite side of Roebuck Way which provides an additional 0.25 hectares.
Sanderson Weatherall added the “site may lend itself to redevelopment,” with 12.24 acres of woodland up for sale separately.
PWC is attempting to fully separate the old headquarters from the nearby DC1 facility, operated by DHL, “due to the legal requirement to separate the shared services before a sale concludes”.
The huge distribution centre was controversially sold by Wilko to DHL in November 2022 for £48 million. Just two months later, DHL ended up selling it on again for £88 million, though Wilko remained the occupier of the site and DHL was its landlord.
The documents submitted by PWC explained it had reached a £2.1m settlement with DHL to leave the building.
There are multiple steps – including the finalisation of remaining property sales, collecting outstanding funds, and engaging with former employees who record their claims – before the process is concluded, says PWC.