Tesco in talks to buy up to 150 stores from Poundland, which faces administration
Key Facts
Tesco has held talks about buying up to 150 stores from Poundland, according to a Press Association report published by Yahoo on November 2. Tesco declined to comment on the talks, and the report did not disclose an agreement or binding offer. The move comes as Poundland faces the prospect of entering administration after filing a notice of intention to appoint administrators. The company’s board said efforts to sell the business had not produced an acceptable offer for the whole operation. The proposed rescue path is therefore focused on the possibility of preserving parts of the network or transferring them to buyers, rather than a confirmed full-company deal.
Poundland operates about 600 stores in the UK and Ireland, including about 70 in Ireland under the Dealz brand, according to the report published by Yahoo. The size of the network puts Tesco’s talks in the context of a potential redistribution of a large number of outlets, but does not determine the fate of the remaining stores. Sky News said the alternative could be a breakup of the business, with competitors such as B&M, Iceland and Aldi potentially acquiring hundreds of stores. The broadcaster reported that the offer from property group Martin Property Group includes, according to its sources, keeping all existing stores and their employees. It also said a number of major suppliers support that offer, as the board has yet to secure an acceptable offer for the whole company.
The stalled sale comes amid heavy financial pressure on Poundland. It recorded a pre-tax loss of £85.3 million in the year to September 2025, compared with a loss of £45.4 million in 2024, according to The Guardian. Sales fell about 12% to £1.55 billion in the same year. In September, the company said like-for-like store revenues had returned to growth, rising 3.3% in the latest three-month period, but sources told The Guardian that the company was not generating enough cash to repay its loans. The contrast between improved revenues at existing stores and accumulated losses highlights the difficulty of turning a sales recovery into a financial solution that would ensure the entire business survives.
The company had closed 149 stores and lost 2,200 jobs as part of a restructuring announced through January 2026, according to The Guardian. The plan included refocusing on goods priced at £1, which accounted for 60% of stock at the time. In September, a Guardian report said Poundland employed 11,000 people and operated 600 stores, and that a management buyout offer could have kept the jobs in place. Figures for jobs at risk vary across later reports: The Guardian said on October 29 that up to 12,000 jobs could be threatened. The prospect of stores being sold or the network broken up makes the future of employees and suppliers a central part of the rescue negotiations.
The notice of intention imposed an immediate statutory stay of 10 business days starting on October 29, according to Sky News. During the period, Poundland said it would work with its advisers “to achieve the best possible outcome.” Filing the notice does not mean administrators have already been appointed, but it puts the company’s path under time pressure as the options remain under consideration. Sky News reported that a government meeting with chief executive Barry Williams and finance chief Sean Wells was expected within days to discuss ways to prevent the company’s collapse. The outcome of that meeting and the fate of the offers on the table remain among the near-term milestones that could determine whether a rescue preserves the network or leads to the sale of parts of it.
EL7 data showed Tesco shares, listed under the ticker TSCDY, closed at $21.68 on October 30 and then at $22.05 on November 2. The move forms part of the closing-price data available for the two periods and, on its own, does not establish the impact of talks to buy Poundland stores on the shares. In September, a Guardian report said Poundland owner Gordon Brothers had hired an adviser to oversee a sale of the business at a reported price of £30 million. The report said a review of initial offers was expected early the following week. The Tesco talks now coincide with the statutory notice period and expected government efforts, while the fate of a full-company deal remains unresolved.