‘People before profit’: Poundland staff stage Walsall HQ protest

A team leader, who did not want to be identified but has worked for the company for more than a decade, said staff were “really upset” and “saddened” at the announcement.

“We have all worked tremendously hard to save the company, and we’ve been successful,” they said.

“We’ve turned it around and this is a profit-making business that is not suitable for administration.

“We’ve completed that turnaround as we set out to do. There are other options, we are successful and there is a way forward.

“We love this company.”

Gordon Brothers bought Poundland, which had been struggling, from the Polish retail group Pepco last year for a nominal £1.

A little over a year later, it put the business up for sale.

Despite an offer on the table for the business, Poundland’s managers and owners have not been able to agree on a buyer, leaving it on the brink of collapse.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he was “very much concerned” by the uncertainty clouding Poundland’s future.