Overview
- Media reports say Gordon Brothers is in talks to launch an auction-style sale of Poundland and is close to naming advisers, though the firm has not publicly confirmed a final decision.
- Poundland was bought for £1 last year from Pepco Group after heavy losses and a court-approved restructuring that forced the closure of up to 200 stores.
- The business reported a £79m pre-tax loss for the year to September 2024 and saw revenue fall to about £1.8bn, figures that helped prompt the takeover and restructuring.
- Management says a recovery plan has made ‘significant progress,’ returning thousands of items to the £1 price point and cutting costs while the estate now runs about 600 UK stores and employs roughly 12,000 people.
- A sale process would start a new phase of uncertainty for staff, suppliers and communities and would be consistent with Gordon Brothers’ model of buying, restructuring and then selling assets, with advisers expected to set the formal timetable.