Breakfast briefing: Retail news on BHS, Sports Direct and M&S

Poundstretcher owner latest bidder keen to buy BHS

The cash-and-carry tycoon who owns the Poundstretcher chain of discount stores is the latest bidder to enter the contest to rescue BHS, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.

Poundstretcher owner Crown Crest, run by Aziz Tayub, is thought to be interested in bringing the department store chain out of administration.

Tayub is vying with a raft of potential bidders, such as Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Peacocks owner Philip Day and Matalan founder John Hargreaves, alongside Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley, to buy BHS.

Meanwhile, MPs probing the demise of the high-street retailer have written to The Pensions Regulator seeking more information about plans to restructure the pension scheme, the BBC has reported.

M&S ditches plans for second flagship store in Netherlands

Marks & Spencer has decided to scrap its plans to open a major flagship outlet in Amsterdam, following the departure of its boss Marc Bolland last month.

The clothing chain said it has offloaded a site on the Rokin shopping street in the city to Canadian department store group Hudson’s Bay.

M&S had plotted this store to be its second flagship in the Netherlands.

An M&S spokeswoman said the sale of the store was not linked to Bolland’s departure.

“The plans have changed considerably since we first looked at the store and this has provoked interest from other parties. We’ve accepted an offer we couldn’t turn down as a result,” she said.

Rangers set to end contract with Sports Direct

Rangers Football Club has said it is terminating its retail contract with Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct.

The Scottish side said that it was withdrawing its trademarks from Rangers Retail, a joint-venture company set up with Sports Direct to sell the club’s merchandise.

This means that the company, which is 51% owned by Rangers and 49% owned by the retailer, will be prevented from selling goods featuring the Rangers badge.