‘Do the right thing, sell this business’: Reform chief blasts ‘greedy’ Poundland owners at Wolverhampton rally

Reform UK Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick blasted the “greedy” US owners of Poundland during a rally in Wolverhampton.

Mr Jenrick said it was pressure from Reform, and others, which had persuaded the Gordon Brothers to grant the company a stay of execution.

He said the company had been quite happy to break up a successful profitable business because its assets were worth more to them than its income.

Mr Jenrick described Gordon Brothers as “corporate raiders” who had received a number of good offers for the business but would rather see it collapse.

He said this was in direct contrast to the entrepreneurship by Poundland founders Keith and Steve Smith, who had built up the business after starting as traders on Bilston market.

“By making this into a big national issue, we’ve already pushed the owner of this business, Gordon Brothers - or Greedy Brothers as we call them - into seriously considering the offers that are on the table to keep this business together and protect those jobs,” he said in an interview with the Express & Star, after the rally at Grand Station banqueting hall, in the former Low Level station, on Thursday (November 12).

“My message to Gordon Brothers is: do the right thing, sell this business in whole to one of those offers, and enable it to move forward, protect those good jobs and families.”

Mr Jenrick said ministers were not powerless to intervene.

“There are powers that the [Business] Secretary has, which we can use to prevent the business from being broken up, using our administration sovereignty laws. That’s what I would do.”