Bedford Wilko store to close this Thursday

The Wilko name is finally disappearing from UK’s high streets with the Bedford shops among the last to close.

Since last week, stores up and down the country have shut their doors for the last time after the GMB Union confirmed the collapse of a rescue deal.

Bedford’s town centre store – in the High Street – will shut up shop on Thursday (September 21). The date was listed as the final day for Bedford – but adminstrators have now confirmed the store at the Interchange Retail Park will close on Wednesday, September 27.

12,500 staff nationwide are affected.

In a statement last week, Zelf Hussain, joint administrator, said: “Despite the significant and intensive efforts of both ourselves and Putman Investments – the remaining party interested in buying a significant part of the business as a going concern – a transaction could not be progressed due to the inability to reduce central infrastructure costs quickly enough to make a deal commercially viable.

“The dedication shown by all team members during this period has been hugely humbling and we are grateful for the patience and understanding they have shown. As with those who have already been given notice of redundancy, we will guide and support those team members impacted over the coming weeks through the redundancy claims process. We also continue to collaborate closely with relevant agencies and engage with any potential employers to help facilitate a quick return into new employment for those impacted.

“We continue to work with potential buyers for different parts of the business and are confident of completing transactions in the coming days.”