Wilko owes North East and North Yorkshire companies £9.7m

On Sunday (October 8), Wilko shut the doors of its last high street shops for the final time, including in Middlesbrough, as the collapse of the 93-year-old retailer came to a close.

The discount hardware and furnishings chain has been shutting its 400 UK stores over the past month after tumbling into administration in August.

Read more: Middlesbrough Wilko becomes one of the final stores to close

It will bring to a close one of the largest high street failures in recent years, with almost all of Wilko’s 12,500 workers being made redundant.

Wilko was originally founded by James Kemsey Wilkinson in Leicester in 1930.

The family-owned business hired administrators from PwC after it came under pressure from weak consumer spending and debts to suppliers.

A Wilko store on its final days (Image: PA MEDIA)

PwC then held talks with interested firms but could not secure a rescue deal for the whole firm, with a potential takeover by HMV owner Doug Putman collapsing.

As a result, administrators sold off a raft of the company’s assets in order to pay off creditors.

Deals were agreed to sell up to 71 stores to Poundland and to sell up to 51 shops to fellow rival discounter B&M. However, both deals did not include staff.

The last remaining Wilko stores closed on Sunday (October 8) (Image: PA MEDIA)

Last week, Poundland said it had offered jobs to more than 200 former Wilko workers and has already reopened 20 of these sites under its brand.

Administrators for Wilko confirmed in filings last week that the business owed around £625 million when it went bust.

The documents also showed the retailer’s pension fund was left more than £50 million in deficit and is unlikely to receive more than £4 million following the insolvency process.

The documents show that Wilko owes companies in the North East and North Yorkshire a total of £9.7m. 

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This includes an £8.8m debt to Procter & Gamble in Harrogate, a £399,555 debt to Accuruent in North Shields, and a £323,490 debt to Tor Coatings in Birtley. 

Other creditors include International Cookware in Seaham and Derandd Investment Partners Ltd in Durham.

Here's a full list of the companies that are owed money by Wilko in the North East and North Yorkshire:

• Derandd Investment Partners Ltd, Durham - £26,500
• Knight Frank, Newcastle - £1861 (£5457 in a separate creditor list)
• Maybourn Ltd, Newcastle - £29,700
• Redfern Building Services, Bishop Auckland - £51,229
• Safetech, Sunderland - £2441
• Gentoo, Sunderland - £14,500
• Accuruent, North Shields - £399,855
• Gateshead Council - £12,877
• Mobile Mini UK, Stockton - £205
• Tor Coatings, Birtley - £323,490
• Nuby UK, Boldon - £49,324
• International Cookware, Seaham - £7025

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