Poundworld
Background
Poundworld Retail Limited (in Administration) (“Poundworld” or the “Company”) was one of the UK’s leading discount retailers, and specialised in selling a variety of items for a fixed price of £1, in addition to select higher-priced products. The Company started in 1974 when it began as a market stall under the name “Bargain Centre”. From that time, Poundworld grew significantly, going on to operate over 300 stores in the UK and generating over £485m ($624m) in revenue at its peak. Poundworld offered a wide range of goods, including groceries, snacks, cleaning products, toiletries, medical supplies, DIY products, electrical products, car care products, homeware, stationery, and toys. The Company’s stores were typically located in high street retail spaces, shopping centres, and retail parks.
Additional Brands
In 2010, Poundworld launched a new multi-price retail business, briefly trading as “Discount UK” and later rebranded as “Bargain Buys”. Bargain Buys specialised in offering multi-priced discount products, with the majority priced at £1 and select items priced higher. The Company operated approximately 50 Bargain Buys stores in the UK..
In addition to its retail business, Poundworld operated a wholesale business specialising in heavily discounted B2B sales and targeting market traders, Ebay sellers, and independent retailers. The wholesale business operated under the trade name “Discount Wholesale” and accounted for approximately £9m ($12m) of the Company’s revenue in 2017.
Engagement/Marketing
In September 2018, Daniel Butters and Clare Boardman of Deloitte LLP as the Joint Administrators of Poundworld Retail Limited (in Administration) appointed Hilco Streambank to actively seek interested parties with regards to the sale of the Company’s intellectual property assets, including the Poundworld and Bargain Buys brands, trademarks, websites, and domain names. We conducted a comprehensive sales and marketing exercise directed at our bespoke database of buyers of intellectual property assets in the discount retail sector. The opportunity generated a great amount of interest and a number of offers were received for the intellectual property.
Outcome
We closed a deal with New Money Ltd, a new company established by Yorkshire property tycoon Manni Hussain, to acquire Poundworld’s intellectual property assets, including the Bargain Buys brand, in October 2018. Deal terms were not disclosed
I am delighted to have agreed the purchase of the Poundworld intellectual property assets and I am now looking forward to bringing the brand back to the high street and provide current and new customers with an unrivalled product offering at £1 or less.
– Manni Hussain