THE BHS name will have disappeared entirely from Britain’s high streets by next week, bringing an end to 88 years of retail history.
The collapsed chain, which ran into financial problems after the sale by Sir Philip Green to a consortium, is shutting 58 branches in the next eight days.
Already, flagship stores in Glasgow’s St Enoch’s Square and Sauchiehall Street have closed, with one in London’s Oxford Street slated to shut on Saturday.
Administrators Duff & Phelps and FRP Advisory have already overseen 105 closures over the past weeks, with the last of BHS’s total 163 stores scheduled to close on August 20. The department store’s collapse in April has affected 11,000 jobs, 22,000 pensions, sparked a lengthy parliamentary inquiry and left its high-profile former owners potentially facing a criminal investigation.
Retail billionaire Sir Philip has borne the brunt of the public fallout, having been branded “the unacceptable face of capitalism” by furious MPs.
Read more: Doomed Glasgow BHS site on Sauchiehall Street earmarked for £75million redevelopment
Sir Philip owned BHS for 15 years before selling it to serial bankrupt Dominic Chappell for £1 in 2015. Sir Philip has come under fire for taking more than £400 million in dividends from the chain, leaving it with a £571 million pension deficitand for selling it to a man with no retail experience.
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