Financially troubled budget retailer Wilko sold its flagship depot for £48m only for it to reportedly be flipped by its new owner, DHL, for £88m just two months later, it has emerged.
Wilko, which collapsed into administration earlier this month putting over 12,000 jobs and dozens of its outlets at risk, sold its 1.1m sq ft warehouse in Maton Wood, Worksop, Nottinghamshire, to logistics giant DHL last November for £48m in a sale-and-leaseback deal.
At the time, then Wilko chief executiveJerome Saint-Marc described the deal as a “strategic 15-year partnership” to create “long-term stability”.
But DHL sold the warehouse for £88m to Brookfield Asset Management this January, the Mail on Sunday has reported.
In January, Wilko secured £40m from restructuring specialist Hilco in a bid to save the struggling businesses.
Earlier this month, the company confirmed PwC would handle its administration, including the search for potential buyers for its brand and 400 UK stores.
B&M, Poundland, The Range and Home Bargains have all expressed interest in purchasing parts of the business, The Times has reported.
Wilko, founded in 1930, is the biggest retailer to collapse since McColl’s last year. Wilko declined to comment on the latest reports.
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