Wilko’s unsecured creditors are set to receive as little as 4p in the pound of the money they are owed, according to first estimates by administrators PwC.
The retailer’s creditors have been informed that they were likely to recover between 4% and 8% of their debts, Sky News reported.
It has emerged that Wilko owed £625m when it collapsed, including £548m to unsecured creditors.
The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) is expected to be repaid the full £20m it is owed as a secured creditor, though it is also owed millions of pounds more as an unsecured creditor, the PwC document shows.
Barclays and restructuring specialist Hilco UK are presumed to be repaid the full £2.4m and £39.9m they are owed.
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The proposals – a statutory file made by insolvency practitioners – also provide a detailed timeline of the events leading to the family-owned chain’s collapse last month.
The discount retailer, which had been hit by inflationary pressures and supply issues, had sought out a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) to help trigger steep rent cuts across hundreds of stores in the months before its fall.
The final Wilko stores will close next month after more than 90 years of trading on the British high street.
The Wilkinson family, which controlled the chain, are facing calls to hand back some of the millions of pounds it extracted from the retailer through dividend payments.
The PwC documents reveal the most recent shareholder payout was made in February last year for £750,000.
The family received £9m in dividends between January 2019 and February 2022.
The Pensions Regulator announced it had launched a probe into the family’s payouts at the beginning of the week following pressure for shareholders to address the £56m deficit in the retailer’s pension fund.
Administrators PwC were unable to sell the entire Wilko business after HMV owner Doug Putman’s white knight bid fell through due to issues with the chain’s internal structure.
As such, the retailer’s assets have been divided up with The Range taking on its brand and website for £5m, Poundland agreeing to take on 71 store leases and B&M snapping up 51 stores in a £13m deal.
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