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| Former owner of BHS accused of having his 'fingers in the till' | |
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| Dominic Chappell, the former owner of BHS, had his “fingers in the till” of the failed retailer and “threatened to kill” its chief executive after he was confronted about taking money out of the business, according to explosive allegations made to MPs. | Dominic Chappell, the former owner of BHS, had his “fingers in the till” of the failed retailer and “threatened to kill” its chief executive after he was confronted about taking money out of the business, according to explosive allegations made to MPs. |
| Chappell allegedly made the threat to Darren Topp after he was accused of theft for moving £1.5m out of BHS, days before administrators were called into the company in April. Topp told MPs he considered calling police over the money transfer and was threatened by Chappell when he confronted him. | Chappell allegedly made the threat to Darren Topp after he was accused of theft for moving £1.5m out of BHS, days before administrators were called into the company in April. Topp told MPs he considered calling police over the money transfer and was threatened by Chappell when he confronted him. |
| “I said to him ‘that’s theft’,” said Topp. “Now, if you take out all of the expletives, he basically said: ‘Do not kick off about this, Darren. I have had enough of you telling me what to do over the last few months. It’s my business, I can do what I want. If you kick off about it I’m going to come down and kill you.’ | “I said to him ‘that’s theft’,” said Topp. “Now, if you take out all of the expletives, he basically said: ‘Do not kick off about this, Darren. I have had enough of you telling me what to do over the last few months. It’s my business, I can do what I want. If you kick off about it I’m going to come down and kill you.’ |
| Related: Commons inquiry reveals machismo of retail wars | Related: Commons inquiry reveals machismo of retail wars |
| “Then he threatened to kill me again, and I know it sounds silly, but apparently he says he was in the helicopter squad of the SAS, and I know he has got a gun.” | “Then he threatened to kill me again, and I know it sounds silly, but apparently he says he was in the helicopter squad of the SAS, and I know he has got a gun.” |
| Other allegations from the hearing into the collapse of BHS, which has put 11,000 jobs at risk, included: | |
| Chappell later claimed allegations by Topp of a death threat were “a nonsense”. After the hearing, he told the Guardian: “What I said to him was ‘when I get back to the office I will fucking sort you out’.” Chappell said he meant he was going to fire Topp but let it go because of the “gravity of what was going on”. | |
| Topp also alleged Retail Acquisitions took £1.8m from the sale of the company and also £7m from the £32m sale of BHS’s offices at North West House in Marylebone, north London, in March 2015. He said Chappell’s promises to save BHS had “unravelled” and by the end he had “his fingers in the till”. | |
| BHS’s former financial consultant, Michael Hitchcock, who was sat alongside Topp, added: “I think I was duped. I think the technical term is a mythomaniac. The lay person’s term is he was a premier league liar and a Sunday pub league retailer, at best.” | BHS’s former financial consultant, Michael Hitchcock, who was sat alongside Topp, added: “I think I was duped. I think the technical term is a mythomaniac. The lay person’s term is he was a premier league liar and a Sunday pub league retailer, at best.” |
| The revelations raise the prospect of a criminal investigation into the affair, while posing further questions for Green, the Topshop boss who controlled BHS for 15 years until he sold it for £1 to Retail Acquisitions in March 2015. | The revelations raise the prospect of a criminal investigation into the affair, while posing further questions for Green, the Topshop boss who controlled BHS for 15 years until he sold it for £1 to Retail Acquisitions in March 2015. |
| Related: Dominic Chappell threatened to kill me, says BHS chief executive | Related: Dominic Chappell threatened to kill me, says BHS chief executive |
| MPs on the work and pensions committee and the business, innovation and skills committee are investigating BHS after it collapsed with a pension deficit of £571m. Green and other investors collected more than £580m in dividends, rent and interest payments during his tenure at BHS. Green will be questioned by MPs next Wednesday. | MPs on the work and pensions committee and the business, innovation and skills committee are investigating BHS after it collapsed with a pension deficit of £571m. Green and other investors collected more than £580m in dividends, rent and interest payments during his tenure at BHS. Green will be questioned by MPs next Wednesday. |
| Chappell, who about admitted he “knew nothing” about retail before buying the company, apologised for the collapse of BHS. | Chappell, who about admitted he “knew nothing” about retail before buying the company, apologised for the collapse of BHS. |
| “I am very upset that there are 11,000 people directly and a number of thousands of people indirectly who have lost their jobs. It is a travesty that it happened. I am very upset that it happened, and it was avoidable,” Chappell said. “As majority shareholder and owner of BHS I must stand forward and say we were part of the downfall of BHS.” | |
| However, Chappell heavily criticised Green’s role in the demise of BHS and said he is considering legal action against the tycoon and his company, Arcadia. | However, Chappell heavily criticised Green’s role in the demise of BHS and said he is considering legal action against the tycoon and his company, Arcadia. |
| Chappell claimed there had been “little or no inward investment for 10 or 12 years” in BHS, that Green had failed to arrange credit insurance for BHS, meaning it had to pay more to suppliers, and that the company had taken a “battering” and had been “held to ransom” by Green’s dispute with the Pensions Regulator over whether he should be forced to inject cash into its pension scheme. | |
| “We took him as a man of his word and he did not keep his word,” Chappell said of Green’s failure to arrange credit insurance. | “We took him as a man of his word and he did not keep his word,” Chappell said of Green’s failure to arrange credit insurance. |
| Related: MPs accuse Sir Philip Green of being an 'unscrupulous chancer' | Related: MPs accuse Sir Philip Green of being an 'unscrupulous chancer' |
| “I think if Philip had assisted us, we could have saved BHS.” | “I think if Philip had assisted us, we could have saved BHS.” |
| Chappell said that Green called in £35m of debt owed to Arcadia after finding out that BHS was trying to reach a rescue deal with Sports Direct, thereby blocking the deal. “When Philip found out about it, he went absolutely insane, screaming and shouting down the phone saying he didn’t want to deal with Mike Ashley,” Chappell said. | Chappell said that Green called in £35m of debt owed to Arcadia after finding out that BHS was trying to reach a rescue deal with Sports Direct, thereby blocking the deal. “When Philip found out about it, he went absolutely insane, screaming and shouting down the phone saying he didn’t want to deal with Mike Ashley,” Chappell said. |
| However, Chappell became increasingly riled by MPs as they probed a series of transactions involving Retail Acquisitions, including a £1.5m loan against his family home that he claimed was used to remortgage the property. Chappell said this was “sideshow” and accused MPs of being “very personal”. He prompted gasps from the audience when he added: “This is a company that was losing millions of pounds a month, what difference would that have made in the grand scheme of things.” | However, Chappell became increasingly riled by MPs as they probed a series of transactions involving Retail Acquisitions, including a £1.5m loan against his family home that he claimed was used to remortgage the property. Chappell said this was “sideshow” and accused MPs of being “very personal”. He prompted gasps from the audience when he added: “This is a company that was losing millions of pounds a month, what difference would that have made in the grand scheme of things.” |
| Chappell admitted he had personally made a profit from BHS, but declined to say how much, telling MPs he would provide them with a spreadsheet showing transactions between himself, Retail Acquisitions and BHS. | Chappell admitted he had personally made a profit from BHS, but declined to say how much, telling MPs he would provide them with a spreadsheet showing transactions between himself, Retail Acquisitions and BHS. |
| Chappell claimed he had earned the money made from BHS and said Retail Acquisitions “did everything in our powers” to save BHS. | Chappell claimed he had earned the money made from BHS and said Retail Acquisitions “did everything in our powers” to save BHS. |
| A spokesman for Arcadia said: “Sir Philip will attempt to correct multiple inaccuracies when he addresses the committee next week.” He denied that Arcadia had pushed BHS into administration, saying: “We had no knowledge of any rescue deal when the letter [asking for debt repayment] was sent on the Friday [before administrators were called in]. Rescue talks continued over the weekend, and when they failed the company called in administrators. | |
| “Sir Philip provided BHS with ample funding and gave it every opportunity to thrive under new ownership.” | “Sir Philip provided BHS with ample funding and gave it every opportunity to thrive under new ownership.” |