Tesco in talks to buy up to 150 Poundland stores

Summarised from 4 outlets · Updated 3 Nov, 09:31 · Archive

Tesco has held talks to buy up to 150 Poundland stores as the discount chain faces potential administration and break-up.

Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket chain, has held talks with Poundland's owner Gordon Brothers about acquiring up to 150 stores, according to reports. This represents a quarter of Poundland's UK and Ireland stores as the discount retailer faces potential administration and a possible break-up.

Poundland has recently filed a notice to appoint administrators, putting the future of its roughly 11,000 employees at risk. The notice gives the business ten working days of protection from creditors to secure a potential rescue deal. Poundland currently operates around 600 stores across the UK and Ireland, including about 70 under the Irish Dealz brand.

Multiple parties have shown interest in acquiring stores or the business. Fortress, the owner of Poundstretcher, is considering buying as many as 250 stores. Other grocery chains including Iceland and Lidl have shown interest, as have Wilko, CDS Superstores which owns The Range, and B&M.

Gordon Brothers purchased Poundland last year for £1 and launched a sale process for the retailer at the start of September. The company had managed a turnaround programme resulting in over 100 shops closing over the past year to stabilise finances. However, this follows Gordon Brothers' rejection of a takeover offer from Irish real estate firm Martin Property Group, which had been named as management's preferred bidder.

Poundland bosses are set to meet with Government ministers amid concerns the retailer may be broken up, despite a takeover offer being on the table. Advisers continue to engage with interested parties around two months after the sale process commenced.

How it is being reported

• Tesco in talks to buy up to 150 Poundland stores as break-up looms, reportsTesco has held talks to buy up to 150 Poundland stores in the UK as the discount chain faces administration and a potential break-up amid rival bids.Westmorland Gazette · 3 Nov, 09:09
• Tesco in talks to buy up to 150 Poundland stores as break-up looms, reportsTesco has held talks to buy up to 150 Poundland stores in the UK as the discount chain faces administration and a potential break-up amid rival bids.News & Star · 3 Nov, 09:09
• Tesco in talks to buy up to 150 Poundland stores as break-up looms, reportsTesco has held talks to buy up to 150 Poundland stores in the UK as the discount chain faces administration and a potential break-up amid rival bids.Whitehaven News · 3 Nov, 09:09
• Tesco in talks to buy up to 150 Poundland stores as break-up looms, reportsTesco has held talks to buy up to 150 Poundland stores in the UK as the discount chain faces administration and a potential break-up amid rival bids.NW Evening Mail · 3 Nov, 09:09

In this story: Tesco · Poundland · Gordon Brothers · Fortress · Iceland · Lidl · B&M · UK

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log