Woolworths' administrators have said it is likely that the retailer's defined benefits pension scheme will be assessed by the Pension Protection Fund.
However, the Pension Protection Fund has maintained that it is equipped to deal with the retailer's pension scheme, currently still in the hand of the trustees, should it have to take it on. The PPF is currently receiving information about the scheme and has 28 days to establish whether the scheme will enter into the PPF.
A spokesperson for the PPF said: "Greater corporate insolvency does not change our model. This is exactly what we have been set up to deal with."
Meanwhile administrator Deloitte has announced 450 redundancies in the company’s support operations at Marylebone Road, London, and Castleton, Rochdale.
Job Centre staff will be attending both sites to provide support and advice to employees who have been made redundant, and the Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Service has put together a team to quickly approve claims for employee entitlements.
There have been no redundancies in the high street stores and distribution centres or at Entertainment UK Ltd (EUK), the wholesale distributor of entertainment products, which is also in administration.