Former Wilko owners say they have no legal obligation to plug £70m pension gap

The former owners of Wilko have failed to plug the bankrupt retailer’s £70m pension hole, in a fresh blow to thousands of former workers.

The discount chain went bankrupt a year ago, cutting 12,500 jobs and closing 398 stores.

Amalgamated Holdings Wilkinson Limited (AHWL), the group owned by the founding Wilkinson family, says its lawyers believe they have no obligation to help fund the gap.

According to documents filed by AHWL, the directors “believe that there is no liability in respect of any deficit.”

The shortfall comes after £77m was paid to the owners in the decade before the collapse.

Last year, unions and MPs called for the owners to be held accountable.

AHWL stated that it has ‘never been the sponsoring employer’ for the Wilko pensions, as it believed it was not responsible.

Former Wilko employees hope that regulator The Pensions Regulator will take action against Wilko and use its powers to prosecute and help the company’s owners.

Atul Shah, a professor of accountancy at City University of London, who testified to MPs about Wilko’s death last year, said: ‘Everyone was looking out for themselves.

But it is the workers who are left behind.’