Poundworld starts closing down sales as talks go to the wire

Poundworld has started a closing down sale across its entire estate of shops - but says it still hopes to survive.It has also emerged that the restructuring firm Hilco has been brought in to help manage the process of either selling or closing the chain's stores.A hundred jobs were lost at Poundworld's headquarters in Yorkshire on Tuesday as the company made a desperate attempt to cut overheads and attract a buyer for all, or some, of the business.