Wilko rivals Poundland, B&M, The Range and Home Bargains are among the firms mulling snapping up the collapsed chain.
The retailers have until Wednesday to lodge offers with administrator PwC. The deadline was moved forward by several days as Wilko risks running out of money over the period of the sale process, according to the Guardian.
A shortlist will then be made for second-round bids by Friday this week, according to The Sun.
It is understood that some of the interested firms could bid for as many as 300 of Wilko’s 400 stores, therefore saving the most jobs. One would-be bidder is also interested to keep the Wilko brand.
Private equity firms including Gordon Brothers, Alteri and OpCapita were previously named as interested in making an offer for the stricken firm.
The value retailer plunged into administration last Thursday after attempts to secure a rescue deal failed.
According to reports, there was originally a lack of interest in snapping up the firm when it was solvent, which would mean taking on its debts and other financial obligations. However, during the insolvency process, buyers can choose the preferred bits of a business.
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Wilko had been struggling for some time as it fell behind competition from many of the retailers that are now lining up to buy the retailer.
Since 2015, B&M, Home Bargains and The Range have all overtaken Wilko’s non-food market share with the collapsed retailer the only chain not to gain share over this period, according to GlobalData.
All Wilko stores have been trading since PwC were appointed last week with no redundancies made as of yet.
The retailer launched an administration sale across its 400 stores yesterday offering discounts on thousands of items.
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