Tesco in Talks to Buy Up to 150 Stores as Poundland Nears Administration
Key Facts
Tesco has held talks about buying up to 150 Poundland stores, according to a summary of a report published by Yahoo News UK on 2 November 2026. The summary says Tesco approached Gordon Brothers, the owner of the discount chain, but this does not establish that a deal has been agreed or formally announced. The potential talks come as Poundland faces the risk of administrators being appointed after filing a notice of intention to do so. The company said its stores continue to operate as normal during the period of legal protection. The possibility of buying part of the network puts the future of the stores and jobs at the heart of the chain’s rescue effort.
Poundland’s board said the notice was filed after no acceptable offer could be found for the business as a whole. Chain chief executive Barry Williams said several retailers had made formal offers covering a significant part of the business, despite efforts to secure a comprehensive bid. The notice gives the company a temporary 10-business-day moratorium on creditor action, according to Reuters and Sky News. Poundland filed the notice on 29 October, Reuters reported, while Sky News said the legal moratorium begins as soon as it is filed. The company is working with its advisers to seek the best possible outcome, while the notice does not mean administrators have already been appointed.
Poundland operates around 600 stores and employs around 11,000 people, according to figures cited by the Guardian in September 2026. The chain had closed 149 stores and lost 2,200 jobs under a restructuring plan announced in January 2026. Even so, Poundland said like-for-like sales at existing stores returned to growth, rising 3.3% in the latest three-month period to September. The company refocused on products priced at one pound, which accounted for 60% of its stock in January, and relaunched its Pep & Co brand. The Guardian linked the earlier sales decline to a switch in clothing lines to products supplied by the former owner, amid changes aimed at restoring momentum to the business.
The improvement in like-for-like sales did not prevent talks on selling the business as a whole from stalling, while the financial picture remains strained. Poundland recorded a pre-tax loss of 85 million pounds in the year ended September 2025, but said it had more than 30 million pounds in cash. It also had a 95 million pound lending facility from Gordon Brothers, of which 50 million pounds had been drawn, according to a company disclosure cited by the Guardian in September 2026. Gordon Brothers bought Poundland in June 2025 for a nominal one euro, in a deal that included up to 80 million pounds in new funding. The deal at the time included the closure of around 200 underperforming stores, according to Sky News.
Rescue options include bids for part of the business alongside a proposal to keep the chain intact. Sky News said the Martin Property Group offer has the backing of a number of Poundland suppliers and, according to its sources, includes retaining all existing stores and their staff. It also reported that Pepco had offered to defer its 7.5 million pound share of the loan if a rescue deal could be agreed outside administration. The alternative, according to the report, could be a break-up of the business, with competitors such as B&M, Iceland and Aldi buying stores. Tesco’s talks about up to 150 stores feature in this possibility of selling parts of the network, though the available summary does not confirm that Tesco has made a binding offer.
The case has reached the UK government, with Work and Pensions Secretary Kate Dearden requesting a meeting with Barry Williams and finance chief Sean Wells, expected to take place within days to discuss ways to avert the chain’s collapse, according to Sky News. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he wanted to know why the offer had been rejected if it could have spared Poundland the risk of administration. The Usdaw union called on the government to do what it could to save 11,000 jobs, noting that most are held by women and part-time workers. At the market level, EL7 data showed Tesco shares fell after reports of the store talks were published, with TSCDY closing at 21.68 dollars on 30 October 2026. The next step depends on the outcome of the talks and the legal moratorium, as Poundland seeks a rescue deal before the temporary protection expires.