Arcadia parent firm Taveta suffered £28m loss over BHS sale

Sir Philip Green’s retail empire wrote off £6.5m in cash transferred to the department store business and spent £2.3m on advisory fees as part of the sales, according to accounts filed at Companies House. 

Green sold BHS to Retail Acquisitions, a consortium led by former racing driver and bankrupt Dominic Chappell, for £1 last year.

The sale has proved controversial as BHS is being wound down after it collapsed into administration and a buyer could not be found.

Yesterday, during an MP-led inquiry into BHS’s demise, Chappell claimed that Green had blocked Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley’s bid for BHS.

Taveta, which owns Arcadia brands Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis, Burtons and Evans, revealed that pre-tax profits jumped 28% to £151m in the year to August 29, 2015.

Total sales rose around 10% to £2.7bn.

However, Taveta noted that customers were becoming “ever more selective and value conscious” and market conditions remained “very challenging”. 

The group said it was continuing with its aim to “produce fashionable products in an ethical way”.

Green is due to face MPs probing BHS next Wednesday (June 15).