Breakfast briefing: Retail news on BHS and The Hut

MPs to quiz property investors over role in sale of BHS

MPs are poised to grill the property tycoons and advisers who backed Dominic Chappell’s BHS acquisition over their involvement with the department store chain, The Guardian reported.

The parliamentary committees probing the collapse of BHS will look to summon Guy and Alexander Dellal, who run Allied Commercial Exporters (Ace).

Ace is believed to have provided Chappell with the £35m needed to show Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group that he was a credible buyer for the high street retailer.

It then went on to make millions of pounds from a series of real estate deals and loan agreements with the retailer.

The committee could also call Olswang’s David Roberts and Paul Martin at the accountancy firm Grant Thornton again.

The Hut Group buys rival Salu Beauty for undisclosed sum

Online retailer The Hut Group has acquired rival Salu Beauty from Walgreens Boots Alliance as it aims to bolster its position in the beauty sector, The Times reported.

Salu Beauty is an upmarket US and Australian retailer that trades as www.skincarestore.com.au and www.skinstore.com.

Financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed.

The takeover will boost The Hut’s range of specialist websites, which include Zavvi, MyProtein, IWantOneofThose.com and Coggles.