Poundland owner drafts in advisers amid discounter crisis

The proprietor of Poundland, 1 of Britain's biggest discount retailers, has drafted successful City advisers to research extremist options for arresting the increasing situation astatine the chain.

Sky News has learnt that Pepco Group, which has owned Poundland since 2016, has hired consultants from AlixPartners to code a income slump which has raised questions implicit its aboriginal ownership.

City sources said this play that the situation would punctual Pepco to research much cardinal for Poundland, including a ceremonial restructuring process that could punctual important store closures, oregon adjacent an effort to merchantability the business.

AlixPartners is understood to person been formally engaged past week, with options including a institution voluntary statement oregon restructuring program said to person been floated by a scope of advisers connected a highly preliminary basis.

Sources adjacent to the radical said nary decisions had been taken, and that the contiguous absorption was connected improving Poundland's currency show and reviving the chain's lawsuit proposition.

A merchantability process was not nether way, they added.

Poundland trades from 825 stores crossed the UK, competing with the likes of Home Bargains, B&M and Poundstretcher, arsenic good arsenic Britain's large supermarket chains.

Last year, the British discounter recorded astir €2bn of sales.

It employs astir 18,000 people.

Earlier this week, Pepco Group, the Warsaw-listed retail elephantine which besides trades arsenic Pepco and Dealz successful Europe, said Poundland had seen a like-for-like income slump of 7.3% during the Christmas trading period.

In its trading statement, Pepco said that Poundland had suffered "a much hard income situation and user backdrop successful the UK, alongside borderline unit and an progressively higher operating outgo environment".

"We expect that the toughest comparative 4th for Poundland is present down america - the aforesaid 4th past twelvemonth represented a play anterior to the changes made wrong our covering and GM [general merchandise] ranges - and therefore, we expect the antagonistic income show for Poundland to mean arsenic we determination done the year."

It added that Poundland would not summation the size of its store portfolio connected a nett ground during the people of this year.

"We are continuing a broad appraisal of Poundland to retrieve trading and get the concern backmost to its halfway strengths, including undertaking a thorough appraisal of each costs crossed the business, arsenic good arsenic evaluating its wide competitory positioning," it added.

The assignment of AlixPartners came respective weeks aft Stephan Bouchert, the Pepco Group main executive, said helium would see "every strategical option" for reviving Poundland's performance.

He is expected to acceptable retired ceremonial plans for the aboriginal of Poundland astatine a superior markets time successful Poland connected 6 March.

Among the measures the institution has already taken to halt the chain's declining show person been to summation the scope of FMCG and wide merchandise products sold astatine its accepted £1 price-point.

Poundland's situation contrasts with the wellness of the remainder of the group, with Pepco and Dealz some showing beardown income growth.

A spokesperson for Pepco Group, which has a marketplace capitalisation equivalent to astir £1.7bn, declined to remark further connected the assignment of advisers

AlixPartners besides declined to comment.