Poundworld’s intellectual property has been put up for sale by administrators Deloitte after another failed rescue attempt last month.
Deloitte, which was appointed as administrator to the collapsed discount chain in June, has called on Hilco Streambank to market and sell the brand’s intellectual property.
Its intellectual property including its eponymous brand name alongside digital assets, organisational knowledge and the right to its Bargain Buys and Discount Wholesale subsidiaries will now be sold off to help generate cash for its numerous creditors, which were understood to be owed around £226 million after its downfall.
“Poundworld is one of the most recognisable retail brands in the UK, and historically held a strong presence in the UK high street with over 300 stores at its peak, and 280,000 social media followers,” Hilco Streambank’s director Nat Baldwin said.
“The discount store market has often seen significant growth during periods of distress, such as the 2008 financial crisis.
“With uncertainties in the UK surrounding Brexit and its planned departure from the EU, consumers are likely to once again rely on discount stores to meet their retail demands. Poundworld not only has an established brand to leverage in this sector, but a number of well-developed web platforms and domain names that can be used to tap into the ecommerce market.”
On August 9, the Henderson family revealed they planned to bring the company back to profit by acquiring as many as 50 units and the Poundworld brand name, but the deal was never closed. Now the leases on many of the stores have been returned to landlords.
Iceland has agreed in principle to acquire 19 of Poundworld’s stores, with four earmarked to become Iceland’s Food Warehouses.
If the deal is completed, the remaining 15 will become regular Iceland stores.
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