Wilko paid out £77m to its owners and former shareholders in the decade before its collapse.
Even last year, when Wilko losses spiralled to £35.9m, a £3m dividend was paid out.
Meanwhile, £3.2m was taken out in 2018 when the discount chain slid to a £65m loss, according to This is Money.
The biggest payout of £63m was made in 2015, when one side of the Wilkinson family sold their shares to the other.
Karin Swann, a granddaughter of founder James Kemsey Wilkinson, quit the board leaving her cousin Lisa Wilkinson as chair.
The GMB union took aim at Wilko’s owners after the retailer collapsed this week, appointing PwC as administrator.
National officer Nadine Houghton said: “Much needed cash was taken out of the business by the Wilkinson family even when it was struggling. GMB members have remained loyal and committed to Wilko, accepting pay cuts and cuts to terms and conditions to help the business stay afloat, yet, as late as last year £3m was taken from the business.
“All the while the technology to improve the Wilko home shopping offer was neglected, their place in the market lost and now 12,000 jobs are on the line.”
A spokesperson for AHWL, the management company for the Wilkinson family, told the newspaper that family members personally had not received any dividends since 2017 when AHWL was formed.
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AHWL owned 99.7% of the retailer when it collapsed.
“The dividends received have been invested in property and businesses in the UK, including over 20 high risk investments into young businesses as the family seek to help entrepreneurs have the success from business that they had over 90 years,” he said.
Meanwhile, Wilko’s pension scheme has been left with a multi-million blackhole.
The retailer’s final-salary pension scheme, which closed a decade ago and has almost 1,900 members, has a £16m shortfall.
The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) looks set to step in. The PPF promises to pay pensions already being drawn in full, but only around 90% to members who had not retired when their employer collapsed.
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18 Comments. Leave new
I used to work for them and I loved it. It’s a shame but there’s to much competition now B&M, The Range , home bargains. My friend still works there at the moment but they are telling them anything which is unprofessional on there part..
Very sorry to hear about Wilkinsons.
How can it be legal to expect workers to take cuts & restrict benefits while owners & shareholders strip the company of assets? Ah…that’s right! The Conservatives have been in control way too long…
Hmm. I’m not sure the government have much to do with how a family opt to run their family-owned business, but sure, why not. However, reading the comments across all the Wilko stories on various sites, it seems very much more self-inflicted than anything else.
Err… because the government set the policies these companies trade by!
Another collapse of a good store
Lisa has gone quiet … since January
Sound just like threster in the early 90 and then there staff did not get paid there proper reduce payment and it took over a year and spent ex amount on a large paper on what was the money use for over 25 thound was spend on sending out the paper work to everyone witch should of been paid to it worker it shocking as all way the staff that kept the boss in the big house ect get treated do badly
One of my favourite stores in a few years time there will be hardly or no shops left on our high streets the rate things are going.
Another company run by terrible British management .
People buy on line, supporting big American brands like Amazon who pay very little tax here in UK , then those same people complain that they have no shops to go to !! People need to support there local shops if they want them to survive
I still don’t understand how shareholders receive profits when the business are making losses. Pension schemes should be protected creative bookkeeping manipulating figures must be stopped. This will not be the first business to collapse. We live in Rip Off Britain
I recall the Head Office staff being almost humerous about Barbara Wilkinson and her side of the family, Karin and Nick. A bit “nouveau riche” “not the sharpest tools” etc. Lisa is the brains…..
Who’s thinking that selling their shares for £63m 8 years ago was the most genius thing anyone senior at Wilko’s did in the last 20 years?
Not looking so stupid now are they?
OMG I remember that! I have said so many times the rot started in 2006 for this company, bad decisions and opening stores in places that were obviously bad or expensive with low foot fall, you have reminded me though how they really thought Lisa was the brains ad the others were seen as short sighted for selling their shares.
Completely agree! Karin & Nick knew exactly which way Lisa was sending the business!
Wilkos family ruined a good business we’re apologizing to staff members and customers it’s joke work for them for 16 years if James was alive today wouldn’t happen
I have 22 years behind me, and it’s very sad indeed. I do wonder what Tony is making of all this, it must be heartbreaking for him to have watched his daughter ruin the business.
Disgusting, selfish behaviour by the Wilkinson family. Founders JK and Mary would be turning in their graves.