Hundreds of jobs at risk as 30 more BHS stores prepare to close

Administrators to BHS are to close about 30 further stores at the end of July, taking the total closures to more than 50.

Unions said that more than 700 staff were likely to be affected by the latest closures and most would probably be made redundant. Administrators are expected to redeploy some employees, but the closures suggest that hopes of finding a buyer are fading.

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Stores including Barnstaple, Chesterfield, Crewe, Derby, Falkirk, Poole, Torquay and Livingston will close on 30 July, a week after the first 20 stores close on Saturday.

Dave Gill, national officer at sthe hopworkers’ union Usdaw, said: “This is terrible news for the staff in the 32 stores affected, on top of the 20 stores that are closing this Saturday. Our hope is that other retailers, including Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group, will offer employment to these experienced, dedicated and loyal staff who suddenly find themselves unemployed.

“At the same time, we are aware that the administrators are continuing to seek a buyer, who will hopefully be able to secure the future of the staff in the remaining stores.”

The shops are being closed as MPs prepare to publish a report on the demise of the retailer, which is likely to heavily criticise former owners Sir Philip Green and Dominic Chappell.

Green last week set out a robust defence of his stewardship of BHS, claiming that he put £421m into the group during his 15 years at the helm.

That amount almost exactly matches the £423m paid in dividends to his family and other BHS shareholders between 2000 and 2004. It is part of more than £580m, including rental payments and interest, extracted from the company under his control.

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The collapse of BHS put 11,000 jobs at risk and left a £571m pension deficit. Green sold BHS for £1 in March 2015 to a consortium led by Chappell, a serial bankrupt. The retailer failed 13 months later.

Labour MP Frank Field chairs the work and pensions select committee, one of two parliamentary groups investigating BHS. He said Green’s credibility rests on coming up with a generous settlement for pensioners, after a bad-tempered evidence session with the retail tycoon last month.

Gill said: “We remain concerned that there is still no news from Sir Philip since he promised to sort the pension scheme, and we wait to hear details of what he proposes. In the meantime we are providing the support, advice and representation our members require at this difficult time.”

Full list of stores to close

Ayr
Barnstaple
Bolton
Camberley
Cameron Toll
Carmarthen
Chesterfield
Crewe
Derby
Falkirk
Gravesend
Hamilton
Kilmarnock
Kirkcaldy
Leith
Livingston
Mansfield
MK Stadium
Newtownabbey
Poole
Portsmouth
Redditch
Rotherham
Salisbury
Scunthorpe
Sheffield Moor
Taunton
Torquay
Weston Super Mare
Worthing