Liverpool loses first Wilko store today as nationwide closures begin - full list of shops shutting down

Liverpool will lose the first of its Wilko stores today as the retailer begins stage one of its nationwide closures after falling into administration.

The family-owned business, which has been on British high streets for more than 90 years, will close 52 branches across Tuesday (September 12) and Thursday (September 14) after failing to secure a deal to rescue its stores.

Liverpool’s Edge Lane outlet will shut down today as part of an initial 24 closures across the country and the Wilko store in Belle Vale will follow later this week when another 28 shops are to close.

All 400 of Wilko’s UK stores are expected to shut down by October, with Merseyside outlets in Southport, Wallasey, St Johns Centre, Birkenhead, Huyton and St Helens affected.

Job loses: This week’s raft of closures will result in 1,016 redundancies, while administrators have also announced hundreds of other job cuts impacting warehouse and support centre staff. Wilko employed 12,500 staff and ran 400 shops before it hired administrators early last month after it came under pressure from weak consumer spending and debts to suppliers.

More closures: A further 124 shops will shut for good next week as the process continues, with the final 222 stores all due to close by early October.

Wilko store closures

Stores to close on Tuesday, September 12

• Acton, London
• Aldershot, Hampshire
• Barking, London
• Bishop Auckland, County Durham
• Bletchley, Milton Keynes
• Brownhills, Walsall
• Camberley, Surrey
• Cardiff Bay Retail Park
• Falmouth, Cornwall
• Harpurhey, Manchester
• Irvine, North Ayrshire
• Liverpool Edge Lane
• Llandudno, Wales
• Lowestoft, Suffolk
• Morley, Leeds
• Nelson, Lancashire
• Port Talbot, Wales
• Putney, London
• Stafford, Staffordshire
• Tunbridge Wells, Kent
• Wakefield, 121 Kirkgate
• Weston-super-Mare, Somerset
• Westwood Cross Retail Park, Broadstairs, Kent
• Winsford, Cheshire

Stores to close on Thursday September 14

• Ashford, Kent
• Avonmeads, Bristol
• Banbury, Oxfordshire
• Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria
• Basildon, Essex
• Belle Vale, Liverpool
• Burnley, Lancashire
• Clydebank, Glasgow
• Cortonwood, Barnsley
• Dagenham, Essex
• Dewsbury, West Yorkshire
• Eccles, Greater Manchester
• Folkestone, Kent
• Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
• Hammersmith, London
• Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
• Morriston, Swansea
• New Malden, South-west London
• North Shields, Tyne and Wear
• Queen Street, Cardiff
• Rhyl, Wales
• Southampton West Quay
• St Austell, Cornwall
• Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Truro, Cornwall
• Uttoxeter, Staffordshire
• Walsall
• Woking, Surrey

What will happen to stores? A number of bidders including HMV and B&M have expressed interest in the existing stores, but it is understood that no bidders are interested in running shops under the Wilko name.

The billionaire owner of HMV, Doug Putman, hoped to keep up to 300 Wilko shops open, but his bid failed as rising costs complicated the deal. However, B&M has said it will take on up to 51 of Wilko’s 400 shops in a deal worth £13m.

According to the BBC the stores will be rebranded as B&M shops, although it is not clear yet whether any jobs will be saved or if Wilko workers will be given preference if they apply for roles at the B&M shops. Other high street retailers including Aldi are encouraging Wilko workers to apply for roles after they announced huge expansion plans last week.