'People before profit': Poundland staff protest
BBCChants of "save our jobs" filled the air outside the Poundland headquarters as workers protested while the chain edged towards collapse.
The retailer's bosses have filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators, which will give the business 10 days to find a rescue deal.
On Thursday afternoon, dozens of staff members gathered in Walsall armed with placards bearing a range of messages, including "people before profit" and "Gordon Brothers, 12,000 jobs are not a write off!".
The board of Poundland Limited said it "recognises any sale process creates uncertainty" and thanked staff for their support.
The decision to appoint administrators comes after managing director Barry Williams told the company's 12,000 staff the chain's US owner had cut off a vital supply of funding despite Poundland's strong sales.
It is understood the firm's owner, Gordon Brothers, wants to break it up, with rivals Poundstretcher, B&M and Lidl interested in potentially buying up its stores.
Kelvin Blake, who attended the demonstration, has worked for Poundland for 25 years and said the announcement had seen morale among the team plummet.
He told the BBC: "I feel like the Gordon brothers have treated us with contempt, as if we don't exist.
"We are the ones that make the money, but we feel like we've been used and abused."
A team leader, who did not want to be identified but has worked for the company for more than a decade, said staff were "really upset" and "saddened" at the announcement.
"We have all worked tremendously hard to save the company, and we've been successful," they said.
"We've turned it around and this is a profit-making business that is not suitable for administration.
"We've completed that turnaround as we set out to do. There are other options, we are successful and there is a way forward.
"We love this company."
Gordon Brothers bought Poundland, which had been struggling, from the Polish retail group Pepco last year for a nominal £1.
A little over a year later, it put the business up for sale.
Despite an offer on the table for the business, Poundland's managers and owners have not been able to agree on a buyer, leaving it on the brink of collapse.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he was "very much concerned" by the uncertainty clouding Poundland's future.
Bally Auluk, national officer for the USDAW union, said: "The government needs to do more to step in, not only to help Poundland but retail going forward.
"How do you put a company that is going from strength to strength into insolvency, saying that it's not fit for purpose? It's one thing only and that's greed. It's totally unacceptable.
"Now you have the potential of these guys here along with thousands of colleagues around the country being out of a job despite their best endeavours to help make this company a success. It's a national scandal."
The company's founder, Steve Smith, started with a market stall in Bilston selling items for £1, with the first Poundland store opening in Burton-upon-Trent in 1990.
Smith sold his shares in the firm for £250m in 2006.
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