BHS administrators to decide next move for collapsed store chain

The fate of BHS and its staff could be decided today

'‹The fate of BHS and its 11,000 staff could be decided today as administrators reach the end of a drawn-out process to find a buyer for the stricken retailer.

Duff & Phelps is understood to be thrashing out terms for a takeover by a consortium led by Gregg Tufnell, a former Mothercare boss and the brother of ex-England cricketer Phil Tufnell.

The consortium, which includes banker Nick de Scossa and Jose Maria Soares Bento, registered a new firm called Richess Group Limited at Companies House last month. The group is thought to have secured financing for the deal from wealthy Portuguese backers.

However, sources have cautioned that a deal may not materialise, which could result in the business being liquidated.

BHS collapsed in April, leaving behind a £571m pensions black hole and sparking an investigation by MPs into its demise.

MPs are set to quiz billionaire Sir Philip Green, who owned BHS for 15 years, and Dominic Chappell, the man he sold it to for £1, in the coming weeks.

Both men have been roundly criticised, Sir Philip for paying a £400m dividend to his family from the business and over his management of the pension scheme, and Mr Chappell for sucking management fees out of BHS before its collapse.