More than 5,000 jobs at risk as Poundworld enters administration

More than 5,000 jobs are now at risk as discount chain Poundworld goes into administration.

The Normanton-headquartered chain, which is owned by private equity firm TPG Capital, currently operates 355 stores nationwide.

It is understood that Poundworld appointed administrators after rescue talks with investment company R Capital collapsed over the weekend.

Daniel Butters and Clare Boardman of Deloitte have been appointed administrators. Deloitte announced that no redundancies or stores closures have been confirmed.

A statement read: “Like many high street retailers, Poundworld has suffered from high product cost inflation, decreasing footfall, weaker consumer confidence and an increasingly competitive discount retail market.”

Clare Boardman, joint administrator at Deloitte, added: “The retail trading environment in the UK remains extremely challenging and Poundworld has been seeking to address this through a restructure of its business.

“Unfortunately, this has not been possible. We still believe a buyer can be found for the business, or at least part of it, and we are keeping staff appraised of developments as they happen. We thank all employees for their support at this difficult time.”

Founded in 1974, Poundworld was acquired by TPG Capital in 2016 in a deal worth around £150m.

A TPG spokesperson also commented: “This was a difficult decision for every party involved. We invested in Poundworld because of our belief in how the company serves its customers and the strength of its employees.

“Despite investing resources to strengthen the business, the decline in UK retail and changing consumer behaviour affected Poundworld significantly.”