More than 5,000 jobs at risk as budget retailer Poundworld enters administration

Discount retailer Poundworld has gone into administration after last ditch talks failed – putting 5,100 jobs at risk

The budget store chain, which has outlets in Norwich, King's Lynn, Wisbech and Ipswich, was in talks with private equity firm R Capital over the weekend, but has called in administrators Deloitte after talks broke down.

Poundworld has around 350 stores across the UK.

It is understood that Poundworld's owner, TPG Capital, rejected previous offers to buy the business out of a pre-pack administration.

Deloitte is likely to run another sale process now it has been appointed as administrator and has said there are no redundancies or store closures at this point in time.

Clare Boardman, joint administrator, said: 'The retail trading environment in the UK remains extremely challenging and Poundworld has been seeking to address this through a restructure of its business. Unfortunately, this has not been possible. We still believe a buyer can be found for the business or at least part of it and we are keeping staff appraised of developments as they happen. We thank all employees for their support at this difficult time.'

The news comes after a tough week for retail which saw department store giant House of Fraser announce it was to close more than half of its store estate amid difficult trading conditions.

Toys R Us has already gone into liquidation this year while electronics retailer Maplin is still in administration.