Retail round-up on May 13, 2016: Advisers shared a £2.4m success fee for BHS sale and Zalando’s first-quarter operating profit slipped despite revenue jump.

Advisers to BHS sale reportedly shared £2.4m ‘success fee’

City advisers - accounting firm Grant Thornton and Olswang – have reportedly shared a £2.4m “success fee” for advising on the sale of BHS, which entered into administration last week.

Part of the remuneration paid to both involved a £1.2m “contingency” or success fee for each, according to The Times.

The groups were advising Retail Acquisitions, a consortium headed by Dominic Chappell, which acquired BHS for £1 from Arcadia tycoon Sir Philip Green last year.

It is thought that the success fees were paid on top of the regular payment for the consultants’ services.

Zalando’s first-quarter earnings slide 35% amid revenue rise

German etailer Zalando recorded a 35% decline in its first quarter earnings despite a 23.7% increase in turnover over last year.

Operating profit for the three months to the end of March stood at €16.4m, down from €25.1m a year earlier.

The fashion business reported quarterly revenues of €796.1m against €643.6m in the same period last year.

Rubin Ritter, a member of Zalando’s board, said the group was “continu[ing] to win market share”, and reiterated full-year forecasts, which include sales growth of between 20% and 25%, and an adjusted operating margin of between 3% and 4.5%.

Topics