Pepco Group brings in advisors to oversee Poundland transition to new ownership
Pepco Group has hired advisors to oversee the transition of Poundland to new ownership, which will also involve a restructuring.
The news follows the group’s announcement last month that it had sold Poundland to Gordon Brothers to enable it to focus on expanding its core Pepco brand.
Subscribe to TRBAccording to Sky News, the group has brought in FRP Advisory to act as an observer as Poundland looks ahead to entering a court sanctioned process that will include job cuts and store closures.
A court hearing for the restructuring plan is due to be held in the last week of August. It is understood that Pepco Group is particularly focused on IT systems which Poundland uses in common with Pepco’s operations in Poland.
In June, Poundland announced plans to close 68 stores and two distribution centres,. The retailer is also seeking rent reductions at several locations.
Barry Williams, managing director of Poundland, said at the time: “It’s no secret that we have much work to do to get Poundland back on track.
“While Poundland remains a strong brand, serving 20m-plus shoppers each year, our performance for a significant period has fallen short of our high standards and action is needed to enable the business to return to growth.
“It’s sincerely regrettable that this plan includes the closure of stores and distribution centres, but it’s necessary if we’re to achieve our goal of securing the future of thousands of jobs and hundreds of stores.
“It goes without saying that if our plans are approved, we will do all we can to support colleagues who will be directly affected by the changes.”
