Prime Minister Andy Burnham has demanded to know why solvent rescue bids for Poundland were rejected, as the discount chain's majority-owner Gordon Brothers released limited funds only this week after freezing access to the retailer's finances.

"This is a deeply worrying time for Poundland staff and their families," Burnham said a fortnight ago. "We want to see jobs protected. If there was a potential owner to avoid this that hasn't been accepted, then the business secretary and I want to know why that is the case."

The intervention is far from irrational. Burnham's Makerfield constituency hosts Poundland's largest distribution centre, putting thousands of retail and logistics jobs at the centre of the crisis. Events since his remarks, however, point to what critics call an alarming degree of government impotence.

Why was a solvent bid left on the table?

One offer, from Martin Property Group, the Londonderry-based owner of the rump of National Car Parks, could have been concluded weeks ago, according to City AM's City editor Mark Kleinman. It was not progressed, reportedly because the bidder was unwilling to line Gordon Brothers' pockets — a claim to be focused solely on preserving jobs that, in Kleinman's words, has rung hollow.

A further complication sits with Pepco Group, Poundland's Warsaw-listed former owner. Pepco still holds a minority equity stake in the chain and a 25 per cent interest in a £30m loan, the bulk of which is owed to Gordon Brothers. Pepco has offered to defer its repayment right on condition of a solvent deal, signalling it grasps the gravity of the situation.

Gordon Brothers' belated release of limited funds this week provided a stay of execution — cynically timed, observers note, to coincide with the business and trade select committee's grilling.

Kleinman's verdict is blunt: this bears the hallmarks of the most pointless major retail collapse for decades and the most politically contentious since BHS collapsed in 2016. "Vulture capitalism is an overused label, but the evidence here leads to the conclusion that it's a wholly appropriate one."

Should the annual say-on-pay vote be scrapped?

Separately, the government's latest consultation on overhauling Britain's corporate governance regime has put shareholders' annual advisory vote on executive pay under threat, part of a bonfire ministers hope will demonstrate commitment to economic growth.

The timing could hardly be worse. AstraZeneca, Glencore and — as Kleinman revealed this week on Sky News — LSEG, owner of the London Stock Exchange, are all consulting major shareholders on significant executive pay increases amid City anxiety that more blue-chips will flee to the US.

A spokesperson for the Investment Association said: "The advisory vote on remuneration is an important mechanism for shareholder accountability and helps maintain alignment between pay, company performance and shareholder interests. Its removal could have unintended consequences, including greater opposition to directors' re-election and a more stringent approach to remuneration policy votes, ultimately reducing flexibility for companies."

Scrapping the vote, the argument runs, would make it harder for companies to justify keeping pace with overseas pay — to the long-term detriment of corporate Britain.

Who is moving in the restructuring market shake-up?

Britain's restructuring sector is also in turmoil. Five years after KPMG sold its insolvency business to HIG Europe under the Interpath name and Deloitte sold its operations to Teneo, the market has been upended again.

Bridgepoint has taken control of Interpath from HIG. This week Interpath confirmed the departures of UK chief executive Will Wright and fellow partners Ryan Grant and Chris Pole to Grant Thornton, following persistent speculation of unrest in the senior ranks. The trio are likely to be blocked from joining immediately, but the defection is a blow.

Meanwhile, David Morris and Paul Inglis — two of the partners who launched FTI Consulting's European restructuring practice in 2007 — are moving to Berkeley Research Group, the ToweRbook-adjacent TowerBrook Capital Partners-owned consulting firm. Sources say they will be tasked with replicating their FTI success, built when the big four accounting firms dominated UK restructuring.

For Poundland's staff, the question remains whether Burnham's words arrive before the shelves empty.