Lidl boss Ryan McDonnell has revealed his property team are in “close contact” with Wilko’s administrator over potentially acquiring some of the retailer’s former stores.
The chief executive told Retail Week that the discount grocer was “very, very active” in terms of its new store acquisition programme.
McDonnell added that while nothing was finalised with administrators at PwC, Lidl was “certainly always interested in looking at properties where they meet our requirements”.
The grocer hopes to open 1,100 shops by the end of 2025, having launched 50 supermarkets in the year to 28th February 2023.
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Wilko plunged into administration early last month after spending the majority of the past year on the brink.
Recent documents on Companies House show that the retailer collapsed while owing more than £400m to creditors.
The debts included £157.3m owed to trade creditors, £411m to unsecured creditors, as well as £25.8m to HMRC.
The administrator is now in the process of selling off the scraps of the business after two last-minute bids to save the retailer had fallen through.
On Thursday, it announced that Wilko’s brand, website and intellectual property had been sold to The Range in a £5m deal.
Meanwhile, Poundland has agreed to take control of 71 stores and B&M has bought 51 of the fallen retailer’s shops for £13m.
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