Poundland owner ‘looking to sell’ a year after takeover that shut 200 stores

The owner of Poundland is reportedly looking to sell the discount high street store just a year after it took over.

The bargain prices shop saw 200 of its stores close after Gordon Brothers purchased it last year but still employs around 12,000 people across the UK.

However, despite claims of an upturn in performance since the buyout, Sky News reports that Gordon Brothers is in talks over a potential auction process sale, with advisers to oversee the deal set to be appointed in the coming days.

There are approximately 600 stores remaining in the UK after those initial closures, which had to be approved by a High Court judge through a restructuring plan.

In its most recently filed accounts, Poundland made a £79m pre-tax loss in the year to September 2024, but earlier this year managing director Barry Williams said there had been “significant progress” within the company, while still noting there was “much to do” in the turnaround efforts.

“Our focus on our costs has, without doubt, given us a platform for future growth, but no sustainable turnaround can be based on cost management alone,” he said in January.

“That’s why our focus in 2026 will be on delivering the kind of ranges and price simplicity our customers want right across the store – in clothing, homewares as well as our core grocery aisles.”

A spokesperson for Poundland declined to respond to Sky on the sale reports, but said: “We’ve made very significant progress over the past year with a recovery plan that’s created simpler, better value for customers centred around thousands of items back at our iconic £1 price point.”

Gordon Brothers, which is based in Boston in the United States, has not stated any reason for the potential sale. But the firm owns a large selection of assets and businesses, many of which are listed for sale, lease, auction or investment – all of which are part of the wider group’s typical model of buying and restructuring or selling on assets.

In the UK, that includes a wood-fired pizza restaurant in London, the recently collapsed motorcycle retailer Superbike Factory and a clothing distributor and online retailer referred to only as “Project Beluga”.

The Independent has contacted Gordon Brothers for comment.