Reported by BBC Business
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds will meet the US-based owners of Poundland on Wednesday as the government hopes to save the retailer from collapse.
The discount chain is on the brink of insolvency and Gordon Brothers, which bought it for £1 last June, has rejected a takeover bid which could have saved the 12,000 jobs currently at risk.
A meeting was due to be held on Thursday but has been brought forward as the scramble to secure a rescue deal for the firm intensifies.
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Gordon Brothers has previously said Poundland faces multiple economic challenges from rising inflation, increasing staff costs, and "severe levels of shoplifting".
Both Reynolds and Prime Minister Andy Burnham have questioned why a deal for the future of the business has not been made.
Meanwhile, MPs say they have called in Poundland's owners for questioning to explain their role in the discount retailer's looming insolvency.
Liam Byrne, chair of Parliament's business committee, said: "Every report suggests Poundland is a viable, profitable business with a future ahead of it and without good reason to let it crash and burn - and then to break it up and sell it off piece by piece.
"We are asking Gordon Brothers to appear before Parliament to explain themselves and tell us just what it is that's preventing them from accepting the fully-funded deal on the table to save more than 12,000 jobs."
Business Minister Kate Dearden and union representatives are also meeting Poundland's managing director Barry Williams later today.
Poundland has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators, which protects it from its lenders until next Thursday.
Adam Turner: We would lose "a few million" if Poundland went under
The meeting comes after a major Poundland supplier has said it will lose millions of pounds if the retailer goes bust.
Adam Turner, sales director at Bradford-based Highcrest Retail Brands, said Poundland was one of its biggest customers and its collapse would cost it "a few million" in lost sales.
The family owned business mainly sells confectionery to Poundland and turns over about £50m.
Turner said the firm becoming insolvent would leave…