Poundland owner in crunch talks as retailer's collapse looms

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds will meet the US-based owners of Poundland on Wednesday as the government hopes to save the retailer from collapse.

The discount chain is on the brink of insolvency and Gordon Brothers, which bought it for £1 last June, has rejected a takeover bid which could have saved the 12,000 jobs currently at risk.

A meeting was due to be held on Thursday but has been brought forward as the scramble to secure a rescue deal for the firm intensifies.

Gordon Brothers has previously said Poundland faces multiple economic challenges from rising inflation, increasing staff costs, and "severe levels of shoplifting".

Both Reynolds and Prime Minister Andy Burnham have questioned why a deal for the future of the business has not been made.

Meanwhile, MPs say they have called in Poundland's owners for questioning to explain their role in the discount retailer's looming insolvency.

Liam Byrne, chair of Parliament's business committee, said: "Every report suggests Poundland is a viable, profitable business with a future ahead of it and without good reason to let it crash and burn - and then to break it up and sell it off piece by piece.

"We are asking Gordon Brothers to appear before Parliament to explain themselves and tell us just what it is that's preventing them from accepting the fully-funded deal on the table to save more than 12,000 jobs."

Business Minister Kate Dearden and union representatives are also meeting Poundland's managing director Barry Williams later today.

Poundland has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators, which protects it from its lenders until next Thursday.

The meeting comes after a major Poundland supplier has said it will lose millions of pounds if the retailer goes bust.

Adam Turner, sales director at Bradford-based Highcrest Retail Brands, said Poundland was one of its biggest customers and its collapse would cost it "a few million" in lost sales.

The family owned business mainly sells confectionery to Poundland and turns over about £50m.

Turner said the firm becoming insolvent would leave a substantial gap in its balance sheet next year.

Highcrest was a "longstanding business that can stomach this", Turner said. But he warned other medium and small suppliers to the retailer have told him that "if Poundland goes under, so do they".

This echoes a warning from Poundland founder Steve Smith on Monday that two or three thousand suppliers to the firm, which only work for Poundland, would be directly affected by its collapse.

Not only would Poundland's 12,000 staff be affected in that case, but potentially up to 30,000 overall, he told the BBC on Wednesday.

He said he was "amazed" Poundland was being put into administration, pointing to the profitability of the company.

"Also, there's two offers on the table from some really good people," he added.

"All I'm asking is for Gordon Brothers to see if they can put a deal together."

Gordon Brothers said Walsall-based Poundland is "still not cash generative at a sustainable level" because of the economic issues it faces.

If Poundland's stores are sold to new buyers, some of the employees may get new jobs on the same premises.

However, it is understood that buyers are only interested in about half the stores at present – meaning roughly 6,000 employees would not be re-employed.

Dearden has said the government doesn't want to interfere with "current ongoing commercial negotiations", but that ministers want "clarity" on the plans for the retailer.

"It's absolutely legitimate for this government to ask the business if they're doing everything they can to protect employees and suppliers up and down the country," she added.

Dearden told MPs that the government would be ready to help the company's employees if Poundland collapses.

The head of Gordon Brothers' European operations reportedly told the government that the firm stood by its stewardship and had given Poundland £85m in additional financing since its purchase in 2025.