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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jun/08/former-bhs-owner-dominic-chappell-quizzed-by-mps-live-updates
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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| BHS CEO: Dominic Chappell 'threatened to kill me over £1.5m theft" – live | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 10.23am BST | |
| 10:23 | |
| Topp also confirms that Dominic Chappell wasn’t even in the office on the day BHS went into administration. | |
| He told staff he was having an eye operation in America; but actually he was on his yacht in the Bahamas. | |
| That’s unacceptable, Topp says. | |
| BHS bosses confirm @DailyMirror story that Chappell was sunning himself on paradise island as chain went bust. https://t.co/GqslEyrzgN | |
| 10.20am BST | |
| 10:20 | |
| BHS CEO: Chappell threatened to kill me over "£1.5m theft" | |
| Q: Is it true that Dominic Chappell tried to move £1.5m out of BHS to a company called BHS Sweden? | |
| That is true, BHS CEO Darren Topp confirms. And Topp’s first response when he discovered the money had moved was to call the police. | |
| Topp explains that he phoned Chappell, and told him, “that’s theft”. | |
| And – “between expletives”, apparently – Chappell told Topp not to kick off about it. | |
| If you kick off about it, I’ll come down there and kill you. | |
| Chappell said that the money was to “look after the home team” (ie, his Retail Acquisition). | |
| The next day, a board meeting was called to discuss firing Topp and another director - another lawyer, who explained to Chappell that the transfer was theft. | |
| The money was then returned, minus £50,000 for “fees”, but Topp believes the money has all been recovered. | |
| Those funds were meant to pay staff, Topp explains. It’s “disgusting” that it was ever moved. | |
| Updated | |
| at 10.29am BST | |
| 10.13am BST | |
| 10:13 | |
| Q: Why wasn’t the turnaround plan delivered? | |
| CEO Darren Topp argues that BHS’s sales performance was actually better than Marks & Spencer, but agrees that targets weren’t hit. | |
| Michael Hitchcock jumps to Topp’s defence, saying Topp is a good retailer - but obviously performance suffers if you’re spending most of your time trying to tackle a disfunctional owner. | |
| And he then lays into Chappell’s Retail Acqusition again: | |
| You can’t have the uncle as the chairman, the family’s best friend on the board, and Dominic Chappell on the board of BHS... then you’ve already got a majority of friends and family on the board [breaking best practice]. | |
| 10.09am BST | |
| 10:09 | |
| Back to the pensions issue...... | |
| Former CFO Michael Hitchcock says that there were “credible solutions” to BHS’s pensions deficit on the table, more than once. That could have prevented the fund going into the Pension Protection Fund, meaning pensioners lose some of the benefits. | |
| And he put some of the blame on the PPF and and the TPF (The Pensions Faculty). | |
| They are cumbersome...not commercial.. and not operating in the best interest of the pensioners. | |
| 10.05am BST | |
| 10:05 | |
| Former BHS CEO Richard Price says he learned on 26 January 2015 that Sir Phillip Green was planning to sell BHS. | |
| And Green apparently told them that Chappell’s £1 bid was credible. | |
| Sir Phillip Green gathered BHS board and told them bid was "credible" + significant due diligence had been done, according to fmr #BHS boss | |
| 10.00am BST | |
| 10:00 | |
| The committee are focusing on BHS’s pension liabilities. | |
| Darren Topp explains that a plan was being drawn up, that would have involved a 7% cut to pension entitlements. It would have included a contribution from Green’s Arcadia Group. | |
| But that plan was turned down by the pension regulators, so Arcadia’s contribution was never agreed. | |
| Updated | |
| at 10.02am BST | |
| 9.58am BST | |
| 09:58 | |
| Darren Topp admits that he was “honoured” to be asked to run BHS by Chappell in 2015. But he swiftly realised that all wasn’t well, so engaged Michael Hitchcock to cover the role of finance director. | |
| Hitchcock clearly found the whole experience quite remarkable. | |
| He talks about meetings which were more like tea parties, packed with executives, so nothing could get agreed on the pension liabilities. | |
| Hitchock sums it up: | |
| It was like a Mexican standoff, everyone was dancing around the handbags... | |
| Updated | |
| at 10.02am BST | |
| 9.55am BST | |
| 09:55 | |
| Q: Tell us more about Dominic Chappell’s lies.... | |
| If someone stands up in front of you and says they’ve put £10m into the business, and got a property expert to turn things around, and they don’t deliver. That’s lying in my book, says Michael Hitchcock. | |
| Q: So how much money did Retail Acquisitions take out? | |
| RAL took £17m out of the business, fact. Arguably it put £10m back in, fact, replies Hitchcock. | |
| He adds that you could argue that a lot more came out (mentioning a £45m figure) -- but those are the simple facts. | |
| No-one wanted BHS to fail, he adds, including Chappell - who presumably wanted to keep using it as a revenue stream for his other operation. | |
| 9.51am BST | 9.51am BST |
| 09:51 | 09:51 |
| Chappell promised to bring in "big hitting" chairman for BHS. They didnt. At time of deal they were briefing it could be Harriet Green | Chappell promised to bring in "big hitting" chairman for BHS. They didnt. At time of deal they were briefing it could be Harriet Green |
| 9.49am BST | 9.49am BST |
| 09:49 | 09:49 |
| Q: Were you aware of Dominic Chappell’s lack of retail experience? | Q: Were you aware of Dominic Chappell’s lack of retail experience? |
| CEO Darren Topp explains that it was blatantly obvious. So the BHS board needed to be shaken up, with new directors with solid experience. | CEO Darren Topp explains that it was blatantly obvious. So the BHS board needed to be shaken up, with new directors with solid experience. |
| Chappell kept promising to bring in some heavy-hitters, but... | Chappell kept promising to bring in some heavy-hitters, but... |
| There was always a reason why it didn’t happen. And it never did. | There was always a reason why it didn’t happen. And it never did. |
| Chappell argued that his expertise was in property, and in deals -- to raise the finance that BHS needed, explains Topp. | Chappell argued that his expertise was in property, and in deals -- to raise the finance that BHS needed, explains Topp. |
| Former CFO Michael Hitchcock then chips in - saying that he believes there was enough value on the BHS balance to raise the funds needed to turn it around, if handled properly. | Former CFO Michael Hitchcock then chips in - saying that he believes there was enough value on the BHS balance to raise the funds needed to turn it around, if handled properly. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 9.51am BST | at 9.51am BST |
| 9.46am BST | 9.46am BST |
| 09:46 | 09:46 |
| Chappell accused of being "mythomanic", "fantasist', "Premier League liar" and "Sunday league retailer" - and we're only 40mins in. #BHS | Chappell accused of being "mythomanic", "fantasist', "Premier League liar" and "Sunday league retailer" - and we're only 40mins in. #BHS |
| 9.46am BST | 9.46am BST |
| 09:46 | 09:46 |
| Former CEO Richard Price, who resigned just after BHS was sold for £1, is explaining that the company had struggled despite close attention from Sir Phillip Green. | Former CEO Richard Price, who resigned just after BHS was sold for £1, is explaining that the company had struggled despite close attention from Sir Phillip Green. |
| Thus the need for a turnaround plan. | Thus the need for a turnaround plan. |
| Q: So how much fresh capital money did the turnaround plan show was needed? | Q: So how much fresh capital money did the turnaround plan show was needed? |
| It didn’t, Price explains, as we only had a week to draw it up (before the sale to Chappell) | It didn’t, Price explains, as we only had a week to draw it up (before the sale to Chappell) |