B&M eyeing BHS stores as buyers circle the collapsed chain

Simon Arora, the boss of the Liverpool-headquartered value chain, told Retail Week today: “There are a number of [BHS] stores we would be able to profitably trade. We are currently assessing the information.”

He would not be drawn on the total number of stores B&M is considering.

It comes after Retail Week revealed last Friday that BHS was on the brink of administration, which was confirmed on Monday.

B&M, which entered the FTSE250 last year, has been expanding its store portfolio rapidly, having added 15 in its last quarter and 62 in the year-to-date.

The retailer has been stepping up its presence on high streets, opening two London stores last year – one in the former Sainsbury’s on Tottenham High Road and the other in Leytonstone High Road, a former Homebase.

Edinburgh Woollen Mill is also among retailers reported to be eyeing a clutch of the stores.

Marks & Spencer is not in the running for the stores as it is concentrating on a roll-out of its foodhall format, Retail Week understands.

The administrator for BHS, Duff & Phelps, is understood to have had more than 50 expressions of interest from potential buyers of the stores.

Analysts expect BHS to be broken up and the name to disappear from the high street.