Poundland Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade
Liam Byrne
Main Page: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)Department Debates - View all Liam Byrne's debates with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade
(1 day, 22 hours ago)
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Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)
I call the Chair of the Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee.
Liam Byrne (Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North) (Lab)
Some 30,000 jobs are at stake in Poundland and its supply chain. Internal documents that we saw at the weekend show that the business’s sales, margins and profitability are ahead of target. Is the Minister absolutely convinced that Poundland’s directors are fulfilling their fiduciary duty and acting in the best interests of Poundland, or are they acting in the interests of a faceless American investment firm? If the loan of up to £60 million that was raised and imposed on Poundland is the barrier, will she take steps to ensure that we are doing everything we can to restructure it, so that it is not a barrier to saving Poundland’s business?
Kate Dearden
I thank my right hon. Friend for his remarks and for his close engagement on this issue over the past couple of days. We know how concerning this situation is for employees across the country. As he knows, we are still working behind the scenes, and Poundland, Gordon Brothers and the Secretary of State will be engaging this week, because we still hope that we can secure a good outcome from the process. That is why we are in close contact with the company and receiving regular updates on many of the points that my right hon. Friend has alluded to. We will of course keep him as updated as we can; I cannot go into all the details at the Dispatch Box today, but I hope he is reassured about our concerns, and that we will remain engaged with Gordon Brothers and the company going forward.