Wilko: Businesses including suppliers and wholesalers could lose out on £266m in administration

In the latest administrator’s report from PWC, the firm said it expects that such creditors will receive between four and 13 per cent of the money they are owed, leaving a potential minimum shortfall of £266m, with just under £40m to be paid out.

This means that if a company is currently owed £1m as part of the administration, it can expect to receive a maximum of £130,000.

The debts were accrued by Wilko before its collapse last year, and prior to the firm’s intellectual property rights being purchased by The Range Group.

Administrators expect the £306m figure, which represents claims currently made, to increase as the administration process continues, meaning the potential shortfall could also rise.

PWC has currently received around 780 claims from unsecured creditors.

Based on a director’s statement of affairs at the time of Wilko’s collapse, it was anticipated that unsecured creditors were owed a total of £548m.

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The latest administrators report, posted to Companies House earlier this week, said: “We think that the likely total dividends to unsecured creditors from both the prescribed part and otherwise will be in the range of four to 13 per cent.

“Whilst we have concluded our trading period and realised a large proportion of the company's assets, there are a number of matters outstanding which mean there remains a level of uncertainty as to the final outcome for creditors. As a result, we have provided a range in respect of the likely outcome.

“Matters which could impact outcomes and are still to be finalised include, but are not limited to: the sale of the final properties (most notably Distribution Centre 2 and the Head Office); certain costs of trading still to be determined such as retention of title claims and agency fees; and the tax liability attaching to the sale of certain assets.”

PWC has estimated that the firm still has net property worth between around £20m and £60m.

Unsecured creditors do not include bodies such as Barclays, the Pension Protection Fund and HUK, which were owed money at the time of the collapse but have been paid or are expected to be paid in full.

Wilko, which before its collapse had over 400 stores and around 12,500 staff members, entered administration in August of last year.

In September, PWC was able to secure a £7m deal with The Range Group for the intellectual property rights to Wilko, as well as its database and online property.

PWC was also able to raise funds through property deal’s with retailer B&M and Poundland owner Pepco for some of Wilko’s former stores.

The Range Group went on to open a number of new Wilko stores towards the end of last year with plans to open more in 2024.