163 BHS stores to be wound down with loss of 11,000 jobs

BHS, the troubled UK department store chain is to be wound down, after attempts to find a buyer failed with the loss of 11,000 jobs, 8000 members of staff and 3000 non-BHS employees who work in the stores.

The decision was taken as none of the offers was judged acceptable by administrators Duff & Phelps, which blamed “seismic shifts” in retail sector.

All 163 stores will be holding closing sales over the coming weeks.

Former owner Sir Philip Green said he was “saddened and disappointed” by the biggest retail collapse since Woolworths in 2008.

Hilco Retail Services has been appointed to assist in the process of winding down the BHS store network. Most bidders failed to convince the administrators included a consortium led by Matalan founder John Hargreaves, Sports Direct’s Mike Ashley , Poundstretcher boss Aziz Tayub and retailer Greg Tufnell

BHS was sold by Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia group to Retail Acquisitions for £1 in 2015. The new owner was headed by Dominic Chappell, a former racing driver who had previously failed in business and been declared bankrupt.

Two parliamentary committees are currently trying to ascertain what led to the retailer’s collapse, when it entered administration in April this year, it had a £571m pension deficit.