The former head of Wilko and the granddaughter of its founder has defended the collapsed retailer's multi-million dividend payouts in the run-up to its collapse.
Lisa Wilkinson, who helped manage the Wilko retail empire for 20 years, dismissed criticisms of £77million payouts to former shareholders in an interview with the Sunday Times. She told the publication that the popular high street chain would have collapsed even if it had not paid millions in dividends
She told the paper: "The board checked, there was sufficient cash, we went through the right governance, the auditors checked it off. Is there a bit of me lying awake at night saying I wish we'd never taken a penny of dividends out? It might have made us survive a couple of months longer. What we have taken out really wouldn't have made a difference."
Earlier this month, the Mail on Sunday revealed how people were paid from Wilko in the years ahead of it going into administration. The publication reported that the biggest payout was £63million in 2015 when one side of the Wilkinson family sold their shares to the other. It also revealed that share dividends of £3million were paid out last year despite Wilko's annual losses of £39million. A total of £3.2million was also handed in 2018 when Wilko had £65million in losses.
Lisa Wilkinson is the granddaughter of founder James Kempsey Wilkinson and took over the reins of Wilko in 2014 when she bought her majority stake from her cousin Karin Swann, who is also a granddaughter of the founder.
She added: "Everybody has thrown everything and everything again at trying to make Wilko a success. The team members, the suppliers, the landlords. Everybody has thrown their soul and heart at it — and if I get tearful, that’s how I feel, because people have worked really bloody hard, round the clock, to keep this thing going."
However, the payouts sparked fury as the chain's administration has put around 12,500 jobs at risk. Trade unions branded the dividend pay-outs "a disgrace". The GMB Union, representing the retailer's staff, national officer Nadine Houghton said: "The business could have thrived under strong market conditions for bargain retailers - but with owners prioritising their own dividends, it has been left to go under."