Sir Philip Green has put BHS, the British department store chain that you would be forgiven for forgetting about, up for sale.
When the Arcadia group reported on its financial results in November last year, it announced that BHS had made a loss of £21m in the year to August 30 2014, up from a £19.3m loss in the previous year.
The chain has been struggling as it faces intense competition on the high street, with slower demand from consumers who are changing their habits and shopping online a lot more.
Reportedly, Sir Philip has been considering parting ways with the struggling retailer for some time. Now it is being said that the retail tycoon has made a definitive decision following a lot of interest in the past few months.
In 2013, more than one suitor weighed up a bid for BHS, including Christo Weise, the South African billionaire who recently partnered with ex-CEO of Asda, Andy Bond in a new venture. US private equity group Apollo, and corporate turnaround specialists such as HMV‘s saviour Hilco were also said to be eying up the retailer, as well as considerations from rival discount fashion chain Primark, and discount supermarkets Aldi and Lidl.
A spokesperson for Arcadia said: “We have had several approaches over the past few months. It is now the company‘s plan to explore whether any of these can be brought to a conclusion.” Green bought BHS in 2000 from Stonehouse for £200m, acquiring the Arcadia group, which owns Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge, for around £800m. BHS has stood for 87 years and if a sale goes ahead, it would be the first sale the billionaire has made in his career.
