There have been expressions of interest from organisations who are considering taking over “at least” some part of Wilko’s business, the GMB Union has said.

The trade union met with administrators and the company as part of a formal consultation process this week.

Andy Prendergast, GMB national secretary said that while talks were still at an early stage, they demonstrate “genuine grounds for hope”.

On Monday it was announced that PricewaterhouseCoopers, the administrators of Wilko, had set a deadline of Wednesday for potential buyers to table bids after the company fell into insolvency last week.

GMB said that while Wilko is in talks with interested parties, staff will continue to be paid and kept on, with all stores continuing to trade.

Wilko currently operates around 400 stores and employs over 12,000 people.

Last week the union described the company's collapse as "entirely avoidable".

"GMB has been told time and time again how warnings were made that Wilko was in a prime position to capitalise on the growing bargain retailer market, but simply failed to grasp this opportunity,” said Nadine Houghton, GMB national officer, at the time.

Houghton was critical of Wilko’s money management, noting that as late as last year, £3 million was taken out of the business by the Wilkinson family even when it was struggling.

A recent report by The Times suggested that any interested buyer would need to inject around £70 million as part of a rescue deal.

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