Poundland is on course for an £18m profit despite its owner pushing for a sale and claiming that the retailer remains “challenged and vulnerable”, can reveal.

The retailer’s unaudited profit for the year to September stands at £18m, sources close to the company said. Following the audit, this figure is projected to rise above £20m, they said. 

This would mark a significant turnaround for Poundland and undermine claims made by its owner, US investment firm Gordon Brothers, that it is still in an uncertain financial position.

Poundland slumped to an £85.2m pre-tax loss in the year to September last year, meaning that the retailer is set to achieve a more-than £100m swing back into profitability. 

Gordon Brothers, which is nearing a break-up of the retailer despite receiving a number of solvent offers for the firm, said earlier this week that it remains in a difficult position.

The investment firm said on Thursday: “In spite of our efforts and the tremendous efforts of management to deliver a turnaround, the business remains challenged and vulnerable to any potential downturn in future trading.”

Poundland ‘has turned a corner’

Gordon Brothers cast the future of Poundland’s 12,000 staff and 600 stores into doubt last week when it filed a notice to appoint administrators, prompting criticism that it is pushing the retailer towards collapse in order to strip more money from the firm. 

Gordon Brothers had refused a solvent offer for the whole company from Irish firm Martin Property Group because it could not provide up-front funding for a £30m loan it bought from Pepco, the retailer’s previous owner, for one pound.

Poundland’s predicted £18m full-year profit would bolster suggestions that the retailer has made a comeback under managing director Barry Williams, who has pushed for the return of its signature one-pound price point across more of its ranges.

The retailer took £1.5bn in revenue in the year to September 2025, meaning that an £18m profit would account for a margin of about 1.2 per cent if the firm’s takings remain steady.

Steve Smith, who founded Poundland with his father, Kevin Smith, in 1990, told the retailer has “turned a corner” under the ownership of Gordon Brothers.

He claimed he had seen internal projections which show the retailer is on course to make a £21m profit in the year to September. Sources confirmed to that the company’s unaudited profit is £18m, and could rise above £20m.

Smith said: “Even with all this going on, the staff are performing, the company is performing. It’s turned the corner. So why are they putting it into administration?

“People are willing to put in offers to buy Poundland. So these bidders don’t think it’s vulnerable. They wouldn’t be putting their cash in if they did.”

Poundland’s 12,000 employees are at direct risk from the company’s potential administration, but Smith said many of the 30,000 jobs the retailer supports in its supply chain could be lost.

Talks ‘with several credible buyers’

Gordon Brothers has faced fierce criticism for its decision not to accept a number of solvent offers to buy Poundland as a whole, from bidders including Martin Property Group, Innovest and Xyra Group.

But Liam Byrne, chair of Parliament’s business select committee, said Gordon Brothers is in “active talks with several credible buyers about selling Poundland as a going concern”.

Byrne had ordered Poundland’s owners to face a grilling at the committee next week but he will now allow these talks to take place in private. “We want those talks to succeed and we want to understand what I know will be highly sensitive commercial information in detail,” he said.

Robert Jenrick, Reform UK’s economic spokesman, told on Monday that he has been offering support to multiple Poundland bidders as he hit out at “corporate raider” Gordon Brothers.

Andy Burnham said on Wednesday that the retailer’s owners must work with the government on a “practical solution” to secure the future of its workers and shops.

Retailers including Lidl, Tesco, Iceland, B&M, The Range and Poundstretcher are among those hoping to pick up some of Poundland’s stores if the firm collapses. 

Gordon Brothers declined to provide further comment. Poundland declined to comment.