HMV boss: I had deal to save 10,000 Wilko jobs

THE owner of HMV has revealed he was within 12 hours of saving homeware chain Wilko and up to 10,000 jobs.

- Graham Hiscott

Canadian tycoon Doug Putman claims the rescue was thwarted by a handful of the store's big suppliers.

Wilko collapsed shortly afterwards in August, with 12,500 staff left out of work.

Mr Putman, 39, who has breathed life into HMV since buying the record chain out of administration in 2019, said: "We had a deal, I flew in to sign it. We were 12 hours away."

But he claimed that at the last minute firms responsible for the high street stalwart's IT systems refused to budge on fees they were due.