The owner of Poundland has said it is preparing to appoint administrators, putting up to 12,000 jobs at risk at the retail chain across the UK and Ireland.
Gordon Brothers filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators to Poundland Ltd at the high court on Thursday, with the advisory firm AlixPartners lined up to run the process.
The legal measure protects Poundland from the demands of creditors for 10 days while a solution to its problems is sought.
Gordon Brothers previously rejected a management-backed rescue bid for the discount chain, which operates 600 stores, including Dealz outlets in Ireland. It bought the struggling chain for a nominal £1 from its previous owner, the European retail group Pepco, in June 2025.
Only one bidder, Martin Property Group, a Northern Irish family-owned company, was interested in buying the entire chain and working with the existing management, led by Barry Williams, the chief executive.
Gordon Brothers is understood to believe that it can raise more from a breakup of Poundland than through the Martin offer, which was worth less than the £30m in debts that Gordon Brothers took on when it bought the chain.
Williams wrote to workers this week saying the rejection of the bid from Martin Property Group was “unexpected, unwanted and wholly avoidable”.
The threat of administration leaves thousands of shop workers facing uncertainty in the run-up to Christmas. Rival cut-price retailers, including Poundstretcher, The Range and B&M, have reportedly expressed an interest in taking on some Poundland stores, which could protect some jobs.
The former Asda boss Andy Bond, who ran Poundland from 2016, when Pepco bought the chain, and later worked directly for the parent company, was part of the negotiations to take on the business alongside Williams.
Gordon Brothers hired the advisory company Alvarez & Marsal in August to oversee a sale of the business at a reported price of £30m, fuelling fears of a breakup, despite improved trading.
Five initially interested parties included the US company Fortress, which owns Poundstretcher, which is thought to want to take less than half of Poundland’s stores to add to its existing chain.
CDS, the owner of The Range, and B&M are also understood to be considering a bid for at least some stores.
