Final BHS stores set to close after 88 years on the high street
BHS will disappear from the high street today after 88 years of trading, as the final 22 stores are set to shut.
Administrators Duff & Phelps decided to start winding down the business in June when it became clear no buyer would take it on as a going concern.
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As the remaining stock has been sold, MPs have been investigating what went wrong at the retailer. In a scathing report, they concluded that Sir Philip Green – who sold the business to former bankrupt Dominic Chappell for £1 – was "the unacceptable face of capitalism."
Green promised MPs he would "sort" BHS' £571m pension deficit, but while Deloitte and Linklaters have been working through a solution on his behalf, Green has been holidaying on a superyacht in Greece.
Speaking on Sky News today, Frank Field MP, head of the Work and Pensions select committee, said "justice will be delivered" for the BHS pensioners.
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"I apologise the process is taking a long time," Field said. "The select committee, if need be, will interview Sir Philip again."
Field stood by calling Green "evil" and said the Serious Fraud Office is investigating whether Green has committed fraud by deception.
Sources close to Green said Field's media appearances are making the negotiations over BHS' pension deficit more difficult, and that finding a lasting solution will take months, not weeks – as Field has suggested.
These are the BHS stores that will be closing today:
Meanwhile, Chappell has been clocking up points for speeding and fending off criticism for how he ran BHS; most recently, it emerged he took a £1.5m loan out of the company to pay off his parent's mortgage.
Even the administrative process itself has been mired in controversy. Duff & Phelps' independence from Green has come into question, forcing the Pension Protection Fund to appoint FRP Advisory as joint administrators. City PM understands FRP Advisory will take over when BHS goes into liquidation.