British department store chain BHS which has been around for 88 years, will be closed down after no buyer came forward to rescue the loss-making entity. The closure will mean up to 11,000 job losses.The decision followed a lengthy bidding process aimed at saving BHS, which went into administration in April.
Administrators Duff & Phelps, who took control of BHS in April, said in a statement on Thursday that “despite the considerable efforts?…?it has not been possible to agree a sale of the business”.
“Although multiple offers were received, none were able to complete a deal due to the working capital required to secure the future of the company,” they added.
The administrators had spent the past five weeks scrambling to find a buyer among a dwindling band of possible rescuers.
Mike Ashley, the Sports Direct tycoon who had proposed to take over all 164 BHS stores, stepped away after reports that he had been outbid. Edinburgh Woollen Mill chief executive Philip Day was also said to have expressed interest, only to pull back.
Sir Philip Green, who owned BHS from 2000 until 2015, said he was “saddened and disappointed” by the winding up order. The winding-down process will deliver funds to secured creditors, including Sir Philip, who is owed some £40m.
Its collapse has left behind a pension deficit that will be absorbed by an official rescue fund, at an estimated cost of £275m.
BHS' closure marks the biggest collapse in British retail since Woolworths closed its doors in 2008
All BHS stores will be holding closing sales over the coming weeks. Hilco Retail Services - the company in charge of the liquidation process - will look for buyers for the stores and the business's other assets.
Hilco's job will be to ensure that the stores continue to trade for as long as possible to allow the administrators to generate the biggest possible returns for creditors - those owed money by BHS. (SH)
Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India
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