Sunday 28 August 2016

BHS to close its stores after 88 years of trading

BHS to close its stores after 88 years of trading

Department chain BHS ending 88 years of British retail history.

Administrators for the department store group are set to shut 22 stores, including ones in Norwich, Northampton, St Albans in Hertfordshire and a branch in Romford in Essex.

The retailer's collapse in April has affected 11,000 jobs, 22,000 pensions, sparked a parliamentary inquiry and left its high-profile former owners potentially facing a criminal investigation.

In March 2015, BHS was sold for £1 by Arcadia Group chairman Sir Philip Green to former bankrupt Dominic Chappell, who in turn called in the receivers in May.

Sir Philip was accused of extracting large sums of money from the firm and failing to resolve a £571m deficit in its pension fund by a Parliamentary inquiry.

In a highly critical report published by MPs last month, Sir Philip was branded the "unacceptable face of capitalism".

Labour MP Frank Field has asked the Serious Fraud Office to launch a formal investigation into both Sir Philip and Mr Chappell to establish whether any criminal wrongdoing occurred during the sale of the chain and throughout their ownerships.


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