'A Lamentable Failure' That Brought Down BHS

Criticism is growing of former BHS owner Sir Philip Green, following the chain's collapse on Thursday.

The retailer's 163 stores are to close down after rescue bids failed, in the high street's biggest collapse since the failure of Woolworths in 2008.

BHS plunged into administration in April, a year after being sold by billionaire retail mogul Sir Philip to little-known consortium Retail Acquisitions (RA).

Last month, MPs investigating the collapse heard evidence that Sir Philip's Arcadia group had been informed that the head of the RA consortium, Dominic Chappell, had a history of bankruptcy and no retail experience.

The retailer's collapse leaves the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) – the "lifeboat" funded by a levy on other retirement schemes – having to shoulder the burden of a £571m BHS pension black hole.

Simon Walker, head of the Institute of Directors accused Sir Philip of a "lamentable failure of behaviour".

He said that the failure of BHS "should be a wake-up call for big companies - you cannot just ditch a problem like BHS and expect to walk away. This episode will follow Arcadia and Green".

"Retailing clearly has changed and it’s possible BHS's days were numbered when it was sold to Chappell for £1.

"But we think companies do have a responsibility to think about how their choices reflect on the reputation of business in general.

"Sir Philip Green has courted the limelight and, for better or worse, his actions reflect on how business leaders are seen by society.

"You can't just get yourself off the hook by selling the business to someone who has been bankrupt three times and is a former racing driver with no retail experience."

Sir Philip - who is due to appear before MPs later this month - has hit back at what he calls his "trial by media" and calls for him to lose his knighthood.

Meanwhile, BHS's 11,000 workers face the task of finding new jobs.

Peter Burgess, chief executive of Retail Human Resources, the UK's biggest retail recruiter, told Sky News that BHS employees have a "very good chance" of getting work, especially those in London.

"The head office staff are very well trained, they've got key skills. I think most of them will go straight back into work.

"It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) 's going to be more difficult, perhaps, in these stores in the regions where there's high unemployment but even then the managers and supervisors and things will be snapped up fairly quickly."

Mr Burgess said workers should not, however, expect much help from the Government, adding: "I don't think the Government has a very good track record in helping people in industries like retail - sadly, I think retailers are a bit ignored.

"The help from the job centres isn't that great, to be honest."

He recommended workers head to recruitment centres, such as his own or those of his competitors.

"When Woolworths went down, which was very sad, everyone was shocked but most of those people very quickly went into work and we've forgotten about Woolworths.

"I think it's a great shame BHS has gone...but I do think that we'll move on from this fairly quickly."