Best Buy in £19m Belgian chain sale

Best Buy Europe, the joint venture between Carphone Warehouse and US electricals giant Best Buy, is to sell its 83-store Belgian chain for €22m (£19.38m) to Belgacom, the country's largest telecommunications firm.

The sale of the chain, which trades as The Phone House, does not include the Belgian insurance business. The joint venture launched its first Best Buy UK store in Thurrock, Essex, in May 2010 and has opened five more. But the operation is loss-making and expansion has been slower than had been anticipated.