50 parties vie to buy BHS

Administrators, Duff and Phelps, have been running the firm after the previous owners failed to reach a new financing deal.

Earlier reports said Duff and Phelps had received 30 approaches over BHS.

The leasehold on the BHS store on London’s Oxford Street was sold earlier this month, for a reported £50m.

But the retailer has other assets that would be of interest to buyers.

Sports Direct had been in talks to buy a number of the 164 stores owned by BHS, but those talks fell through.

Analysts say that buyers would be more likely to take parts of the 88-year-old business rather than save the whole group.

“What we tend to find in an administration is that people look at it as a distressed company,” said Julie Palmer, of business recovery firm Begbies Traynor.

“People will look at it and say: ‘What are the best bits we can cherrypick here?'” she said.

It leaves the 11,000 staff at BHS in an uncertain position.

They have been told that they will receive their pay for April, but beyond that the situation is less certain.

For current staff, and former employees, there is also uncertainty over the state of the pension fund which has a £571m deficit.

Former BHS owner Sir Philip Green is expected to be called to appear before MPs to face questions over the collapse of the retailer.

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