Poundland's former owner, Steve Smith, has said he would invest in the discount retailer. Smith founded the Walsall-based business in 1990 and left it in 2006. He said he was "really surprised" to learn that current owner Gordon Brothers had filed for administration, given that sales were up 11% on last year.
Smith said he had tried to contact Gordon Brothers over the past three months but received no reply. He said he would "definitely want to put some money back in there" if an opportunity arose. He also said that "even last week" sales were 11.2% up on last year, and that Poundland made a loss last year but was expected to make a good profit this year.
The BBC understands that Business Minister Kate Dearden will meet senior Poundland executives later this week. Government sources concede there is limited scope for the government to intervene in a commercial transaction. The meeting is described as predominantly a "fact finding" meeting. No meeting is currently planned with Gordon Brothers.
Gordon Brothers, a US-based firm, bought Poundland from Polish retail group Pepco last year for £1. It has stopped funding the business and rejected a takeover offer from Irish firm Martin Property Group (MPG). Gordon Brothers said it is evaluating interest for the whole business and formal and indicative offers for significant viable parts of it. The retailer has been given until Thursday to find a rescue deal, which puts up to 12,000 staff at risk.
Liam Byrne, chair of the Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee, said the company could be saved. He urged ministers not to wait until Thursday to act. Smith estimated that job losses could reach 20,000 to 30,000, including suppliers. Poundland operates 600 stores in the UK and Ireland.
In a statement, the board of Poundland Limited said it had been working on a formal sale process but had not been able to identify an acceptable offer for the business as a whole. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the government was "ready to support" staff and called for answers on why an offer to buy the business had been rejected.