Wilko: B&M European Value Retail agrees deal worth £13m for 51 stores, says high street discount retailer

High street discount retailer B&M has agreed to buy up to 51 Wilko stores after the chain fell into administration last month.

Administrators were called in on 10 August, with around 12,000 jobs at the company at risk as a result.

B&M European Value Retail, which operates in the UK under the name B&M, has now swooped in a agreed to buy up to 50 store for a deal worth around £13 million. In an update to advisers, B&M said: “The consideration is fully funded from existing cash reserves and the acquisition is not expected to be conditional on any regulatory clearances.”

While the B&M deal will save around 51 stores, hundreds of others are still at risk of complete shutdown.

It comes after speculation over a potential deal with HMV owner Doug Putman. Putman, who orchestrated the comeback of the music retailer in the UK following its fall into administration, was reportedly unable to come to an agreement with Wilko suppliers despite having acquired the financing to buy over around 300 stores of the retailer's 400 locations.

Suppliers, including Unilever and Procter & Gamble, are said to have wanted their debt repaid as soon as possible in order to continue supplying the stores.