Sir Philip Green , pictured with his daughter Chloe , has sold the loss-making BHS department chain for just £1 to a little-known investment firm . Retail tycoon Sir Philip Green has sold struggling BHS for just one pound – a fraction of the £200million he paid for it almost 15 years ago . The billionaire had failed to turn the loss-making department store chain around due to fierce competition from rivals . It was bought yesterday by a little-known investment firm called Retail Acquisitions , raising fears for the jobs of 11,000 staff in 171 BHS stores across the country . When asked if their roles were safe , Sir Philip said : ‘ I ’ m a retailer , not a clairvoyant. ’ The entrepreneur bought the chain in 2000 when it was called British Home Stores . It joined Topshop , Miss Selfridge , Dorothy Perkins and Burton as part of his Arcadia Group . But its furniture and fashion – aimed at older customers – struggled to sell well enough to keep up with rivals . Recent attempts to breathe new life into the chain included introducing food halls in some stores , opening new cafes and selling clothes from some of Arcadia ’ s other brands . But this failed to kick-start growth , and BHS continued to lose customers to cheaper rivals such as IKEA , as well as more upmarket competitors including John Lewis . Sir Philip said the chain made a cash loss of £45million last year . Analysts estimate that it lost 800,000 shoppers over the past five years . The businessman said he had not been able to give BHS as much attention as he would have liked because of the other brands he owns . ‘ I don ’ t think anything went wrong , ’ he said . ‘ You try being involved in six businesses . ‘ I ’ m not blaming anybody , but when you are in and out of the business you tend to drift . You can ’ t be an absentee landlord . It is a challenging marketplace and BHS is in the middle of the market at a time when everyone is discounting. ’ He said the business is being handed over in a sound financial position with ‘ significant ’ cash balances and no debt . Sir Philip put BHS up for sale in January . He refused to confirm the sale price yesterday , but this was widely reported as being £1 . He also declined to say whether he had secured an agreement that existing stores and jobs would be safeguarded . ‘ I don ’ t want some article saying they will close them , ’ he said . ‘ I ’ m a retailer , not a clairvoyant . People buy companies and people sell companies . They are buying the business to run it as a going concern. ’ Fears have been expressed over the job security of more than 11,000 staff employed by BHS . Retail Acquisitions is a new business set up by five directors with little experience in the sector . Chairman Keith Smith , 76 , is a former stockbroker . Two other directors are lawyers – one specialising in privacy , who has advised Mike Tyson , Ulrika Jonsson and Hugh Grant . Of the firm ’ s remaining two directors , one is an unknown Swede and the other appears to be a former racing driver . Mr Smith said : ‘ This is a fantastic opportunity to breathe new life into this iconic British high street brand . ‘ We are convinced that with strategic and focused support we will return BHS to profitability and safeguard the workforce. ’ However , analysts believe the firm may be forced to cut staff . Neil Saunders , a director of research firm Conlumino , said : ‘ On the positive side , it is likely the brand will be reinvigorated and see some investment . ‘ On the negative side , some restructuring [ job cuts ] is likely and over the medium term further store closures will likely be required . ’
Sir Philip Green has sold BHS for just £1 to Retail Acquisitions . Fears have been expressed over the job security of BHS ' 11,000 workers . When asked about the jobs , Green replied : ' I 'm a retailer , not a clairvoyant ' The chain was put up for sale in January and the price is believed to be £1 . Scroll down for video .