BHS could be bought out of administration by property millionaire

Bhailok, former general secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain, has reportedly taken steps to buy the department store chain.

BHS formally entered administration on Monday after it was revealed by Retail Week to be on the brink last Friday, putting 11,000 employees at risk.

Bhailok wrote a letter to business secretary Sajid Javid yesterday asking for government support in his bid to save the retailer, according to The Times.

He is understood to be the private investor who, alongside Sports Direct, was in last-minute talks with Retail Acquisitions to buy the retailer in the days before it entered administration.

Bhailok registered a new entity on Companies House called BHS Revive on the day it collapsed and is understood to have been tracking the struggling retailer for years.

He plans to raise £15m by selling assets in his existing property estate in a bid for BHS, it was reported. He is understood to have travelled to London on Tuesday to submit his plan to save the retailer to administrator Duff & Phelps.

• To read analysis on what BHS’s administration means for high streets and landlords, click here
• To read data on why BHS will find it challenging to offload store leases, click here