Wilko goes into Administration

Bug One said:
I hope the adminstrators can keep them alive. The hardware sections was a class above anything else on the highstreet.
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Yup
They actually had a useful selection inc stuff like bike tubes etc, and they were imo of a far better quality than homebase whilst being cheaper.

I've had a few weird occasions when I've actually found a tool/part I needed in the relatively small Wilko hardware shelves than in my local Homebase.

I thought they were looking a little grim a few months ago when I went in and there were some odd gaps on the shelves :(
 
Can't say I'm surprised having been in the local ones over the last few months. Many empty shelves.

Shame, was a really useful place. Found it really good for decent wall plugs recently. Had some from Plasplug cheaper than anywhere else nearby and held them in stock too. Also some hollow door fixing came in handy too.
 
Bug One said:
Like the scumbags that ripped off the UK energy sector. Given a dressing down in court, but get to keep their dirty millions.
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There's no jeopardy to corporate crime, cheat, lie, price-fix, steal, con - get caught doing all of them - doesn't matter, quick telling off in the Headmaster's office, and then back to dorms for tea and scones...

It's almost like the UK's legal is modelled on Public Schools...which amazingly is where everyone involved in these processes, from start to finish, was educated. Some concidence that.
 
Freakbro said:
I was just explaining how dividends can legitimately be paid even though a company might be making a current loss, it's not particularly untoward in general.

I don't know enough detail about this case specifically to comment, but looking briefly it seems the dividends were allocated from last years accounts and the auditors still classed Wilko as sufficiently liquid and a going concern at the time, there's just been a deterioration in the projected sales/cost figures through to Jan 24
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You do wonder whether the owners saw the end of the road and sucked out what they could from the business.
 
Happened to snag 10 x 3 packs of water filter cartridges on offer the day before the possibility of administration was announced. I had wondered about going back for more later in the week, but unsurprisingly the rest disappeared almost immediately.

Wilkos has been very handy for me. Used to get all my contact lens solution from there until recently. Also moved home earlier this year, and Wilkos in walking distance came in useful for that.

For me, Wilkos was one of the few remaining reasons to go in to town. The death spiral is accelerating.
 
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Jono8 said:
The owners don't give a ****

They got theirs:

www.theguardian.com

Wilko owners took £3m in dividends despite £37m losses

Retailer understood to be seeking £30m emergency funding amid falling sales
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
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Looking at the accounts, the last dividends were paid in February 2022, at a time that the company had £9m of accumulated profits and £111m at group level, and before the Ukraine war had kicked off and inflation spiralled, which I imagine is the main cause the business to fail (at least so rapidly). The £37m loss referenced reflected a year in which covid was still around and supply chains were massively disrupted. Back in February 2022 when the dividends were paid it was probably pretty reasonable to assume that year wasn't going to repeat itself.

The statements made about a downturn in trading conditions were made at the time of signing the accounts (November 2022), so well after the dividends were paid and reflective of a very different time.

So, absent some seriously fraudulant accounting of which there is no suggestion of, the directors haven't done anything wrong.
 
Flibster said:
Can't say I'm surprised having been in the local ones over the last few months. Many empty shelves.

Shame, was a really useful place. Found it really good for decent wall plugs recently. Had some from Plasplug cheaper than anywhere else nearby and held them in stock too. Also some hollow door fixing came in handy too.
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That was the sort of thing I used to find, they did actual reasonable quality hardware, not fancy expensive stuff, or dirt cheap tat (or Homebase style expensive tat).
It was things like odd screws, wall plugs, adhesives that I knew i could pick up from there whilst I was in the town, and IIRC they surprised me by selling the double slot style shelving brackets which I don't think anyone else in town did.

I remember hunting high and low in the town at one point for a contour gauge "what?" (homebase), and popped into Wilko to get something else and they'd got them on the shelf.
 
weringo said:
Looking at the accounts, the last dividends were paid in February 2022, at a time that the company had £9m of accumulated profits and £111m at group level, and before the Ukraine war had kicked off and inflation spiralled, which I imagine is the main cause the business to fail (at least so rapidly). The £37m loss referenced reflected a year in which covid was still around and supply chains were massively disrupted. Back in February 2022 when the dividends were paid it was probably pretty reasonable to assume that year wasn't going to repeat itself.

The statements made about a downturn in trading conditions were made at the time of signing the accounts (November 2022), so well after the dividends were paid and reflective of a very different time.

So, absent some seriously fraudulant accounting of which there is no suggestion of, the directors haven't done anything wrong.
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"Reasonable to assume"

Was it? Sounds like they didn't know what the **** they were doing and just wanted their nice big piece of the pie.

Stop making excuses for these rich, greedy parasites.
 
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