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| Sir Philip Green left BHS on 'life support', MPs find | Sir Philip Green left BHS on 'life support', MPs find |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Sir Philip Green and others who "got rich" from BHS have been blamed for the retailer's collapse in what MPs called the "unacceptable face of capitalism". | Sir Philip Green and others who "got rich" from BHS have been blamed for the retailer's collapse in what MPs called the "unacceptable face of capitalism". |
| A damning MPs' report found Sir Philip, the billionaire former owner of BHS, extracted large sums and left the business on "life support". | A damning MPs' report found Sir Philip, the billionaire former owner of BHS, extracted large sums and left the business on "life support". |
| His failure to resolve BHS's £571m pension deficit was a major factor in the firm's demise, the report added. | His failure to resolve BHS's £571m pension deficit was a major factor in the firm's demise, the report added. |
| Sir Philip vowed to MPs last month that he would sort out the pensions "mess". | Sir Philip vowed to MPs last month that he would sort out the pensions "mess". |
| In his June appearance before the Business and the Work and Pensions select committees, he also said he had invested £800m in BHS during his 15-year ownership in an attempt to turn around the struggling business. | In his June appearance before the Business and the Work and Pensions select committees, he also said he had invested £800m in BHS during his 15-year ownership in an attempt to turn around the struggling business. |
| Prime Minister Theresa May's spokeswoman called the report's findings "clearly concerning" and said Mrs May had already set out the need to "tackle corporate irresponsibility". | Prime Minister Theresa May's spokeswoman called the report's findings "clearly concerning" and said Mrs May had already set out the need to "tackle corporate irresponsibility". |
| Live: Sir Philip Green under fire | Live: Sir Philip Green under fire |
| Jack: What price a knighthood? | Jack: What price a knighthood? |
| BHS exposes 'challenge' of our pensions | BHS exposes 'challenge' of our pensions |
| Sir Philip Green: From 'king of the High Street' to 'unacceptable face of capitalism' | Sir Philip Green: From 'king of the High Street' to 'unacceptable face of capitalism' |
| The Prime Minister's spokeswoman added there was a need to "reform capitalism to make sure it works for everyone not just the privileged few." | The Prime Minister's spokeswoman added there was a need to "reform capitalism to make sure it works for everyone not just the privileged few." |
| There has been no response so far to the report from Sir Philip, whose retail empire includes Topshop and Dorothy Perkins. | There has been no response so far to the report from Sir Philip, whose retail empire includes Topshop and Dorothy Perkins. |
| 'Retribution and justice' | 'Retribution and justice' |
| MP Frank Field, co-chair of the BHS inquiry carried out by the committees, said Sir Philip should write a cheque for "at least" £571m for the BHS pensioners. | MP Frank Field, co-chair of the BHS inquiry carried out by the committees, said Sir Philip should write a cheque for "at least" £571m for the BHS pensioners. |
| Mr Field, the chairman of the Work and Pensions committee, said "one person, and one person alone is ultimately responsible for the BHS disaster". | Mr Field, the chairman of the Work and Pensions committee, said "one person, and one person alone is ultimately responsible for the BHS disaster". |
| Sir Philip was "the Napoleon figure who orchestrated all this" and should suffer punishment "way beyond losing his knighthood", the Labour MP told the BBC. | Sir Philip was "the Napoleon figure who orchestrated all this" and should suffer punishment "way beyond losing his knighthood", the Labour MP told the BBC. |
| The Prime Minister should seek "retribution and justice" over Sir Philip Green's "plundering" of BHS, he added. | The Prime Minister should seek "retribution and justice" over Sir Philip Green's "plundering" of BHS, he added. |
| The report, from the Business, Innovation and Skills and Work and Pensions committees, comes just days after it was revealed Sir Philip's knighthood is being kept "under review". | The report, from the Business, Innovation and Skills and Work and Pensions committees, comes just days after it was revealed Sir Philip's knighthood is being kept "under review". |
| The entrepreneur has repeatedly clashed with Mr Field, accusing him of conducting a "trial by media". | The entrepreneur has repeatedly clashed with Mr Field, accusing him of conducting a "trial by media". |
| 'Magic number' | 'Magic number' |
| John Ralfe, a pensions adviser for the MPs' report, said there were two amounts that Sir Philip could contribute to the BHS pension fund. | John Ralfe, a pensions adviser for the MPs' report, said there were two amounts that Sir Philip could contribute to the BHS pension fund. |
| "The first, lower magic number, is £275m. That's the loss that the Pension Protection Fund will take," Mr Ralfe told the BBC. | "The first, lower magic number, is £275m. That's the loss that the Pension Protection Fund will take," Mr Ralfe told the BBC. |
| The second is paying off the total £571m deficit, but "even for Sir Philip, as a billionaire, that's a lot of money", Mr Ralfe said. | The second is paying off the total £571m deficit, but "even for Sir Philip, as a billionaire, that's a lot of money", Mr Ralfe said. |
| BHS is in the process of closing down after what the MP report called the "shambolic" ownership of Dominic Chappell, who bought the retail chain from Sir Philip for £1 last year. | BHS is in the process of closing down after what the MP report called the "shambolic" ownership of Dominic Chappell, who bought the retail chain from Sir Philip for £1 last year. |
| BHS was "hurriedly sold to a manifestly unsuitable" buyer in that deal, even though Sir Philip knew Mr Chappell was a former bankrupt with no retail experience, the MPs found. | BHS was "hurriedly sold to a manifestly unsuitable" buyer in that deal, even though Sir Philip knew Mr Chappell was a former bankrupt with no retail experience, the MPs found. |
| The sale went unchallenged because Sir Philip ran his retail empire as "a personal fiefdom", they said. | The sale went unchallenged because Sir Philip ran his retail empire as "a personal fiefdom", they said. |
| The MPs' three-month inquiry, which interviewed dozens of executives, found that a "large proportion of those who have got rich or richer off the back of BHS are to blame" for its collapse. | The MPs' three-month inquiry, which interviewed dozens of executives, found that a "large proportion of those who have got rich or richer off the back of BHS are to blame" for its collapse. |
| "Sir Philip Green, Dominic Chappell and their respective directors, advisers and hangers-on are all culpable," the report found. | "Sir Philip Green, Dominic Chappell and their respective directors, advisers and hangers-on are all culpable," the report found. |
| US bank Goldman Sachs, UK law firm Olswang and accountancy firm Grant Thornton were also criticised for their roles in the sale of BHS to Mr Chappell in March 2015. | US bank Goldman Sachs, UK law firm Olswang and accountancy firm Grant Thornton were also criticised for their roles in the sale of BHS to Mr Chappell in March 2015. |
| Mr Chappell, meanwhile, was branded "out of his depth" and "over-optimistic to the point of arrogance", while also taking out "lavish" rewards from the company. | Mr Chappell, meanwhile, was branded "out of his depth" and "over-optimistic to the point of arrogance", while also taking out "lavish" rewards from the company. |
| "The tragedy is that those who have lost out are the ordinary employees and pensioners," the report said. "This is the unacceptable face of capitalism." | "The tragedy is that those who have lost out are the ordinary employees and pensioners," the report said. "This is the unacceptable face of capitalism." |
| It added: "The reputation of business, the engine of prosperity, has been damaged, to the dismay of responsible investors, owners and business leaders." | It added: "The reputation of business, the engine of prosperity, has been damaged, to the dismay of responsible investors, owners and business leaders." |
| Analysis | Analysis |
| By Dominic O'Connell, BBC Today Programme business presenter | By Dominic O'Connell, BBC Today Programme business presenter |
| As Sir Philip Green sits on his yacht ruminating over his grilling by two select committees, one thought will be running through his mind - betrayal. | As Sir Philip Green sits on his yacht ruminating over his grilling by two select committees, one thought will be running through his mind - betrayal. |
| According to those close to him, Sir Philip feels he has been unfairly singled out over the collapse of BHS - poorly treated by the committees, the professional firms that advised him, the politicians that once sought his company and, in particular, the financial media. | According to those close to him, Sir Philip feels he has been unfairly singled out over the collapse of BHS - poorly treated by the committees, the professional firms that advised him, the politicians that once sought his company and, in particular, the financial media. |
| Sir Philip thinks the accusations that he and his family profited while pensioners suffered are wrong, but he does admit to one big mistake. By choosing Dominic Chappell, a serial bankrupt with no retail experience, and as the select committee report confirms, no capital, the tycoon chose, in his words, "the wrong jockey". | Sir Philip thinks the accusations that he and his family profited while pensioners suffered are wrong, but he does admit to one big mistake. By choosing Dominic Chappell, a serial bankrupt with no retail experience, and as the select committee report confirms, no capital, the tycoon chose, in his words, "the wrong jockey". |
| So far, Sir Philip has chosen not to respond to the report's withering criticism. He is unlikely to stay silent forever. In the medium term, he faces a more pressing question - what to do to make good his promise to "sort" the BHS pension. | So far, Sir Philip has chosen not to respond to the report's withering criticism. He is unlikely to stay silent forever. In the medium term, he faces a more pressing question - what to do to make good his promise to "sort" the BHS pension. |
| In the past, he has privately expressed his willingness to make some kind of financial contribution, but is understood to be reluctant to make a payment direct to the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), the lifeboat scheme that is now preparing to take the BHS scheme on board. | In the past, he has privately expressed his willingness to make some kind of financial contribution, but is understood to be reluctant to make a payment direct to the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), the lifeboat scheme that is now preparing to take the BHS scheme on board. |
| A payment to the PPF would benefit its coffers, but not lead to improved benefits for BHS pension members. | A payment to the PPF would benefit its coffers, but not lead to improved benefits for BHS pension members. |
| 'Heartfelt affection' | |
| The Green family extracted more than £300m from BHS, enabling them to accrue "incredible wealth" and with either "inadequate" or "ineffective" investment pumped back into the business, according to the report. | The Green family extracted more than £300m from BHS, enabling them to accrue "incredible wealth" and with either "inadequate" or "ineffective" investment pumped back into the business, according to the report. |
| "By 2014, BHS was left on life support, having drawn on all its accumulated reserves and more as a result of large dividends and heavy losses," it found. | "By 2014, BHS was left on life support, having drawn on all its accumulated reserves and more as a result of large dividends and heavy losses," it found. |
| The retail tycoon also gave "insufficient priority" to the pension scheme over an extended period, leaving 20,000 pensioners now facing substantial cuts to their contributions. | The retail tycoon also gave "insufficient priority" to the pension scheme over an extended period, leaving 20,000 pensioners now facing substantial cuts to their contributions. |
| "Sir Philip owes it to the BHS pensioners to find a resolution urgently," the report said. "We still do not doubt that Sir Philip has heartfelt affection for BHS. To an extent it created him; it could also bring him down." | "Sir Philip owes it to the BHS pensioners to find a resolution urgently," the report said. "We still do not doubt that Sir Philip has heartfelt affection for BHS. To an extent it created him; it could also bring him down." |
| Mr Chappell, chief executive of Retail Acquisitions, said: "It's a lengthy document and we need to go through and will respond accordingly." | Mr Chappell, chief executive of Retail Acquisitions, said: "It's a lengthy document and we need to go through and will respond accordingly." |
| A Goldman Sachs spokesman said the report recognised it had identified risks to Sir Philip's Arcadia group from selling the business to Mr Chappell but did not provide advice or recommendations. | A Goldman Sachs spokesman said the report recognised it had identified risks to Sir Philip's Arcadia group from selling the business to Mr Chappell but did not provide advice or recommendations. |
| Are you a BHS employee? Are you concerned about your pension? Have you started looking for new work? Email your story to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. | Are you a BHS employee? Are you concerned about your pension? Have you started looking for new work? Email your story to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. |
| You can also contact us in the following ways: | You can also contact us in the following ways: |
| Or use the form below | Or use the form below |