BHS liquidation proceedings begin, ending 88 year history

British retail chain BHS has officially entered liquidation, after falling into administration earlier in the year.


The news marks the official end of the iconic company's 88-year history in the UK.


While a company, or parts of a company, can still be bought and saved from administration, the liquidation of assets means the firm will now be dissolved and the money used to pay back BHS's creditors.


But some may get returns as little as 8p on the pound thanks to the huge deficit in the BHS pension fund, which had reached £571m at the time of the company's collapse but is likely to have grown since thanks to volatility in the markets.


BHS's downfall in April marked the biggest British high street collapse since Woolworths nearly a decade ago.


Former owner of the company, Philip Green, has been heavily criticised for his handling of the firm and its pension pot.


Mr Green claimed he did everything he could to keep the business afloat, despite taking more than £400m in dividends from the company before selling it to serial bankrupt Dominic Chappell for £1.


The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) took on responsibility for paying retirement funds to thousands of former BHS employees, making it BHS's biggest creditor.


:: The Demise Of BHS - A Timeline Of Events


Malcolm Weir, Head of Restructuring and Insolvency at the PPF, commented:


"We believe the liquidation is the right way to secure the best possible recovery for the pension schemes and other creditors of the insolvent company.


"The liquidator will now be able to progress all remaining issues, including the leases and the ongoing investigatory work."


Sky News reported in November that the administrators who were put in charge of BHS in April, Duff & Phelps, had resisted starting the liquidation process as they hoped to secure better returns for creditors.


Frank Field MP, who chairs the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee, said that the news is "another milestone in the collapse of BHS that Sir Philip Green sailed away from".


"At this stage, though, it is welcome," he said.


"It gives the PPF's preferred administrator - rather than Sir Philip's - the best chance of salvaging some money for the pension schemes.'


"It does beg the question, though, of why the BHS pensioners are having to jostle for position, when Sir Philip promised months ago he would 'sort' their pension payments."