MAJOR department store BHS is to go into liquidation with the loss of up to 11,000 jobs it was announced yesterday, after efforts to find a buyer failed.
Not only will thousands of workers lose their jobs, but they may well lose their pensions as well, since BHS has a £571 million pensions black hole. The decision followed a lengthy bidding process aimed at saving BHS, which went into administration in April.
But none of the offers was judged acceptable by administrators Duff & Phelps, who blamed ‘seismic shifts’ in the retail sector for the collapse. All 163 BHS stores will be holding closing sales over the coming weeks.
Hilco Retail Services has been appointed to assist in the process of winding down the BHS store network. Hopes of rescuing the store chain had rested on a late offer from a company led by retailer Greg Tufnell and reportedly backed by Portuguese money.
The financial backing for the bid failed to materialise and it collapsed. Other bidders who failed to convince the administrators included a consortium led by Matalan founder John Hargreaves.
There were also separate offers from Sports Direct’s Mike Ashley, infamous for promoting zero-hours contracts for his workforce and a bid from Poundstretcher boss Aziz Tayub.
‘Despite the considerable efforts of the administrators and BHS senior management, it has not been possible to agree a sale of the business,’ said the administrators in a statement. 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.
‘Our thoughts today are with the employees. We thank them for their professionalism and hard work. We would also like to thank the great British public for helping us in our efforts to save BHS resulting in several weeks of significant sales.’
The jobs of 8,000 members of staff are likely to go, while a further 3,000 jobs of non-BHS employees who work in the stores may also be at risk.
