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| BHS shuts doors on flagship Oxford Street store for last time | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The doors have been shut for the last time on BHS’s flagship branch in central London – and by next weekend no stores will be left at all. | The doors have been shut for the last time on BHS’s flagship branch in central London – and by next weekend no stores will be left at all. |
| The Oxford Street outlet is one of 58 closing over the next eight days as administrators call time on 88 years of British retail history. | The Oxford Street outlet is one of 58 closing over the next eight days as administrators call time on 88 years of British retail history. |
| On their last shift on Saturday, workers spoke of their disappointment. | On their last shift on Saturday, workers spoke of their disappointment. |
| “I’m very sad, for myself and everyone losing their jobs. I have worked with so many lovely people here, a lovely manager, and I’m so upset to leave,” said Maira Estupinan, 39. | “I’m very sad, for myself and everyone losing their jobs. I have worked with so many lovely people here, a lovely manager, and I’m so upset to leave,” said Maira Estupinan, 39. |
| Inside, the shop was littered with scores of red and yellow “everything must go” signs advertising up to 80% off as hundreds of last-minute customers picked over the remaining stock. | Inside, the shop was littered with scores of red and yellow “everything must go” signs advertising up to 80% off as hundreds of last-minute customers picked over the remaining stock. |
| Duff & Phelps and FRP Advisory have already overseen 105 closures in recent weeks, with the last of BHS’s 163 stores scheduled to close on 20 August. | Duff & Phelps and FRP Advisory have already overseen 105 closures in recent weeks, with the last of BHS’s 163 stores scheduled to close on 20 August. |
| News of the store’s failure in April sparked a lengthy parliamentary inquiry and has left its high-profile former owners potentially facing a criminal investigation. | News of the store’s failure in April sparked a lengthy parliamentary inquiry and has left its high-profile former owners potentially facing a criminal investigation. |
| The retail billionaire Sir Philip Green has borne the brunt of the public fallout as MPs branded him“the unacceptable face of capitalism”. | The retail billionaire Sir Philip Green has borne the brunt of the public fallout as MPs branded him“the unacceptable face of capitalism”. |
| Green owned BHS for 15 years before selling it to Dominic Chappell, a serial bankrupt for £1 in 2015. He has come under fire for taking more than £400m in dividends from the chain, leaving it with a £571m pension deficit, and for selling it to a man with no retail experience. | Green owned BHS for 15 years before selling it to Dominic Chappell, a serial bankrupt for £1 in 2015. He has come under fire for taking more than £400m in dividends from the chain, leaving it with a £571m pension deficit, and for selling it to a man with no retail experience. |
| The Labour MP Frank Field has asked the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to launch a formal investigation into the pair to ascertain if there was any criminal wrongdoing during the sale of the chain and their respective ownerships. | The Labour MP Frank Field has asked the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to launch a formal investigation into the pair to ascertain if there was any criminal wrongdoing during the sale of the chain and their respective ownerships. |
| He said: “The central concern that emerged from our inquiry was the rushed sale of a struggling high street institution to manifestly unsuitable buyers. There is no way someone with Sir Philip Green’s experience believed they were anything but.” | He said: “The central concern that emerged from our inquiry was the rushed sale of a struggling high street institution to manifestly unsuitable buyers. There is no way someone with Sir Philip Green’s experience believed they were anything but.” |
| Surai Zacarias, 36, who has worked at BHS since 2012, said: “I have to look for another job, of course. It’s been such a long day. It’s been very badly managed by those in charge, I wish this to happen to no one else, not at any company. | Surai Zacarias, 36, who has worked at BHS since 2012, said: “I have to look for another job, of course. It’s been such a long day. It’s been very badly managed by those in charge, I wish this to happen to no one else, not at any company. |
| “It is not easy to come in to work and the next thing you have no job.” | “It is not easy to come in to work and the next thing you have no job.” |
| Brendon Cabey, 34, from Islington, north London, has worked at BHS for 12 years. He said that if he saw Green he would “say nothing at all to him. He has made this company go down the drain. I would not talk to him”. | Brendon Cabey, 34, from Islington, north London, has worked at BHS for 12 years. He said that if he saw Green he would “say nothing at all to him. He has made this company go down the drain. I would not talk to him”. |
| He said he was trying not to think about his pension. | He said he was trying not to think about his pension. |
| Nikki Rav, 25, has worked in the store since she was 17. She said of Green: “Just leave it to karma. It will come round to him.” | Nikki Rav, 25, has worked in the store since she was 17. She said of Green: “Just leave it to karma. It will come round to him.” |