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BHS owner breaks silence, signing up turnaround expert

Exclusive: Nine months after it bought the troubled chain, Retail Acquisitions brings in Aidan Treacy as finance director

Joanna Bourke
Thursday 17 December 2015 00:23 GMT
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Aidan Treacy has indicated that the new owner is committed to reviving BHS, not breaking it up
Aidan Treacy has indicated that the new owner is committed to reviving BHS, not breaking it up

The new owner of BHS has appointed a turnaround expert as chief financial officer, marking its first significant boardroom appointment since buying the struggling high street chain in March.

The Independent can reveal that Retail Acquisitions has hired Aidan Treacy, a former finance director at the dairy giant Unigate. He was named a director at the company according to documents filed this month at Companies House. It is the first board appointment since March.

The Irishman was most recently an associate director at the business advisory company Essendon Group. He qualified as a chartered accountant with Coopers & Lybrand, now part of PwC, and has held several positions since the 1980s, including four years as Unigate’s finance director.

On his LinkedIn page the 54-year-old describes “cash management, effective management information, mergers and acquisitions, team building and accountability” among his specialisms.

Mr Treacy told The Independent: “Joining the already strong entrepreneurial team at Retail Acquisitions, and working with the fantastic retailers leading BHS in its turnaround plan, is the most exciting opportunity in the UK for a turnaround specialist like me.” He added that all involved were “determined to renew this iconic high street brand”.

Details of the appointment come nine months after the loss-making BHS was sold for a token £1 by the retail veteran Sir Philip Green to the little-known Retail Acquisitions. The latter is backed by a number of investors, including brokers and lawyers.

Despite concerns that the sale heralded a future break-up of the department store chain, Retail Acquisitions insists it wants to steer the group back into the black. When the deal was announced it said it would appoint “retail turnaround experts in due course”.

The challenges facing BHS’s new owner include the retailer’s underlying pension deficit, which rose to £139m in the year to 31 August 2014, and a tough high street market.

Over the past nine months a number of initiatives have been undertaken to trim costs and boost sales.

Property agents were hired to explore options for 51 shops across the UK, including in Wood Green in north London, Barnstaple and Dundee. This could see underutilised space sublet and rents renegotiated, including at the flagship Oxford Street store.

Darren Topp, who was promoted to BHS chief executive in April, has also introduced about 20 food stores within its shops where customers can buy bread, food, drink and “two dine for £10” offers alongside traditional BHS items such as clothes and bedding.

The chain has also reached concession agreements at a number of stores with the womenswear group Quiz and denim specialist Ruby London. It hopes to win new customers and convince them its fashion stock is not just “old elasticated trousers”.

In September , BHS signed a loan agreement worth about £60m with Grovepoint Credit, the specialty lending arm of Grovepoint Capital.

When the loan was added to cash reserves, BHS said it would have working capital in excess of £85m available, which would “enable it to modernise and reinvigorate the consumer experience”.

The company was founded in 1928 and at the time of the sale this year had 171 stores.

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