Breakfast briefing: Retail news on BHS and Asda

MPs to call BHS owner’s representatives to give evidence

MPs are poised to summon the representatives of Retail Acquisitions, which acquired BHS for £1 from Sir Philip Green, and the professional advisers who worked on the buyout as witnesses to give evidence as they probe the high street retailer’s fall into administration.

The Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Select Committee is to reveal that it wants to investigate the level of due diligence that the BHS owner was legally required to undertake before buying the department store chain in March last year, according to Sky News.

It is also thought that the committee would want to ascertain the extent of the checks made by Sir Philip’s Arcadia Group to ensure that Retail Acquisitions was a responsible owner.

The BIS investigation will run simultaneously with a separate inquiry by the Department for Work and Pensions Select Committee, which is to examine the circumstances surrounding BHS’s £571m pension scheme and its possible implications for taxpayers.

Asda looks to offload UK photo arm to Photo-Me

Walmart-owned Asda is in discussions to offload its UK photo product business to Photo-Me International as it seeks to reduce costs in the wake of declining sales.

It is likely that Photo-Me will snap up the assets of the supermarket chain’s photo arm and would aim to operate the division from within Asda stores.