Poundland could be put up for sale as taxes rise, owner says

[Pelican Press 0]

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Poundland could be put up for ***** as taxes rise, owner says

Jennifer Meierhans

Business reporter, BBC News

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Poundland’s owner has said it is considering putting the chain up for ***** after warning tax changes coming in April will put more pressure on the business.

The discount chain has 825 *** stores but sales were down this January and February, its Polish owner Pepco Group said.

A rise in employer National Insurance (NI) contributions announced in the Budget start in April and Pepco says these will “add further pressure” to Poundland’s costs.

A host of High Street brands have warned of shop closures, job losses and price rises as a result of rising costs, but Chancellor Rachel Reeves has defended the NI increase as “the right decisions in the national interest”.

Pepco Group said Poundland was “operating in an increasingly challenging *** retail landscape that is only intensifying”.

“From April 2025, the *** government’s additional tax changes announced in the Budget will also add further pressure to Poundland’s cost base,” it added.

Retailers have been among the most vocal of businesses criticising the NI increase and the rise in the minimum wage, which will both happen in April.

Tesco,

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, Greggs, Next and dozens of other chains last year wrote to the Treasury urging it

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.

The government has defended the tax rise as necessary to avoid cuts to public services.

The Pepco Group, which owns Pepco bargain stores in Poland, is making a profit so is looking at ways to separate itself from Poundland “including a potential *****,” it said.

As part of the plans, former Poundland managing director Barry Williams, who took over as managing director of Pepco in September 2023, will return to his Poundland role.

Stephan Borchert, chief executive of Pepco Group, told Reuters there are “definitely interested parties for this business” and said he was confident Poundland’s future would be decided by September this year.

“Definitely we’re looking at all options but a ***** is possibly a very good option since we believe that the business will do better with a new owner,” he said.

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