Poundland owners face grilling from MPs as discount retailer veers towards collapse
Poundland’s owners are set to be grilled on whether they are “trying to crash the retailer into administration” as political pressure mounts over the “corporate raider” investment firm. Gordon Brothers, the US investment firm which owns Poundland, is set to be hauled in front of Parliament’s influential business committee next week and quizzed on what [...]
The US investment firm Gordon Brothers, which owns discount retailer Poundland, is set to face intense questioning from MPs about its intentions in the company's near-collapse. The parliamentary business committee plans to grill the investment firm on whether it is deliberately pushing the retailer towards administration in order to extract more money from the struggling chain.
Gordon Brothers' meeting with government ministers on Wednesday comes amid mounting political pressure over its handling of an attempted sale of Poundland. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is also scheduled to discuss the retailer's future with Gordon Brothers while Work and Pensions Minister Kate Dearden will hold talks with Poundland's managing director, Barry Williams, and finance officer, Shaun Wills.
The committee's chair, Liam Byrne MP, has called on Gordon Brothers to present a plan to save the 12,000 Poundland jobs and prevent the collapse of the high street chain, which also supports another 30,000 jobs in its supply chain. The Prime Minister has urged the owners to work with the government to find a solution that secures jobs and keeps the stores viable.
Gordon Brothers has ruled out several solvent offers to buy Poundland, including those from Martin Property Group and Innovest. However, a little-known investment group, Xyra Group Holdings, has proposed to buy the retailer as a going concern for £12.5 million.
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