Bury St Edmunds Wilko branch to close on September 17

Administrators have been working to save the High Street giant since the middle of August, with a last ditch attempt to save the chain by the owner of HMV resulting in failure. 

Staff at stores across the country, including at Suffolk branches in Ipswich, Lowestoft, Mildenhall and Bury St Edmunds, have been told their shops will close. 

The Bury St Edmunds Wilko branch will close on Sunday (Image: Newsquest)

The branch in Bury St Edmunds will close on Sunday, September 17 as part of the closure of 124 stores before Thursday, September 21.

The remaining Suffolk stores are set to close by early October.

More than 9,000 people will be made redundant as a result of the chain collapsing. 

Zelf Hussain, joint administrator at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said: “Despite the significant and intensive efforts of both ourselves and Putman Investments - the remaining party interested in buying a significant part of the business as a going concern - a transaction could not be progressed due to the inability to reduce central infrastructure costs quickly enough to make a deal commercially viable.

“The dedication shown by all team members during this period has been hugely humbling and we are grateful for the patience and understanding they have shown.

"As with those who have already been given notice of redundancy, we will guide and support those team members impacted over the coming weeks through the redundancy claims process. We also continue to collaborate closely with relevant agencies and engage with any potential employers to help facilitate a quick return into new employment for those impacted.

“We continue to work with potential buyers for different parts of the business and are confident of completing transactions in the coming days.”