Following weeks of speculation, BHS has entered administration. Duff & Phelps, as administrators, confirmed that the 164 BHS stores would remain open whilst it tries to secure a buyer for the business as a going concern. BHS management had been trying to find a buyer and secure additional funding but the negotiations were not fruitful. As widely reported the business was offloaded by Sir Philip Green for £1 in March 2015 to Retail Acquisitions, a firm headed by Dominic Chappell, complete with a significant pension deficit. There are 11,000 employees who could now be facing redundancy unless a buyer for the entire business is found, rather than – as is more likely – offers are made for individual stores in the better locations by other retailers. Mere weeks ago BHS had secured the support of its creditors for a CVA and it is understood that Sir Philip Green had pledged £80 million toward the pension deficit which stands at over £570 million.
BHS had faced growing competition from other retailers specifically in clothing categories but had retained a strong reputation for its lighting and homewares ranges
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