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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 7 | Version 8 |
|---|---|
| Former BHS boss Philip Green 'blocked' Mike Ashley rescue deal – live | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 1.22pm BST | |
| 13:22 | |
| Chappell: I'm not going bankrupt again | |
| Iain Wright MP asks Chappell about a personal loan of £150,000 he took out recently, at 1% per month, repayable after two weeks. | |
| Only £75,000 has been repaid, and the other half has now been formally demanded (by the Dellal family, who had been involved those complicated property deals) | |
| Q: Mr Chappell, are you going bankrupt again? | |
| No, says Chappell, giving a vey short laugh (and not looking amused at all). | |
| He says that he had a tax bill to pay. | |
| Q: But you’ve told us that you’ve made money on BHS. | |
| Yes, but when you make a profit, you incur tax, Chappell explains. | |
| Updated | |
| at 1.23pm BST | |
| 1.16pm BST | |
| 13:16 | |
| Q: Did you lend £1.5m from BHS to a property company connected to your father? | |
| The loan came from Retail Acquisitions, Chappell says, not BHS, from money generated by the business. It went to a company that owns his father’s house. | |
| Updated | |
| at 1.21pm BST | |
| 1.12pm BST | |
| 13:12 | |
| Dominic Chappell is adamant that he’s not to blame for the deadlock over BHS’s pension black hole. | |
| It’s argues that its Philip Green’s fault, for failing to co-operate with the pension regulators. | |
| Frank Field: "Philip Green was like Banquo's ghost in all of this - he was always there. He wouldn't leave you along" | |
| 1.06pm BST | |
| 13:06 | |
| In another dizzying trip down the rabbit hole, Chappell says he wasn’t allowed to speak to the Pensions Regulator about BHS before he had actually bought the company. | |
| Bizarre. Condition of BHS deal was that Sir Philip Green would not allow Dominic Chappell to see Pensions Regulator before deal | |
| 1.04pm BST | |
| 13:04 | |
| Dominic Chappell continues to blame Sir Philip Green for BHS’s collapse. | |
| He repeats his complaint that the Arcadia boss didn’t deliver on his promise to sort out BHS’s credit insurance (which drove up costs) | |
| BHS pension like "lighting the red touch paper" w Green, Chappell says. "He went from zero to incredibly angry the moment you mentioned it" | |
| Chappell says he did "everything in my powers", including attempting to sell to Mike Ashley before Green "railroaded" the rescue deal | |
| MPs aren’t impressed... | |
| Q: You bought this company, and had a cash crisis within three months of buying the business. | |
| Chappell claims it was more like a short-term pinch point - and he sorted out a loan to cover it. | |
| 12.49pm BST | 12.49pm BST |
| 12:49 | 12:49 |
| Dominic Chappell claims that BHS’s landlords were very hard to deal with, after years of being yelled at by Green. | Dominic Chappell claims that BHS’s landlords were very hard to deal with, after years of being yelled at by Green. |
| There was a perception that we were Philip’s boys... brought in to take this problem child of Arcadia’s hands, he adds. | There was a perception that we were Philip’s boys... brought in to take this problem child of Arcadia’s hands, he adds. |
| Dominic Chappell with a classic understatement, says Sir Philip Green has "a slight control issue" | Dominic Chappell with a classic understatement, says Sir Philip Green has "a slight control issue" |
| 12.44pm BST | 12.44pm BST |
| 12:44 | 12:44 |
| Chappell: Sports Direct were prepared to save BHS | Chappell: Sports Direct were prepared to save BHS |
| Boom! Dominic Chappell has told MPs that BHS could have been saved from liquidation, because Mike Ashley of Sports Direct was prepared to step in. | Boom! Dominic Chappell has told MPs that BHS could have been saved from liquidation, because Mike Ashley of Sports Direct was prepared to step in. |
| Chappell says that Sports Direct was a “willing buyer” for BHS, if it could have avoided the pension liabilities. | Chappell says that Sports Direct was a “willing buyer” for BHS, if it could have avoided the pension liabilities. |
| We worked for 24-hour straight, says Chappell. “Mike would have saved the business” | |
| But Green didn’t want the deal to go through, so he called in the administrators by triggering the £35m charge that he still held on BHS. | But Green didn’t want the deal to go through, so he called in the administrators by triggering the £35m charge that he still held on BHS. |
| Chappell claims Sir Philip Green went "insane" when he found out he was trying to sell BHS to Sports Direct, so called in administrators | Chappell claims Sir Philip Green went "insane" when he found out he was trying to sell BHS to Sports Direct, so called in administrators |
| According to Chappell, Sports Direct would have given BHS the capital injection it needed. That would have left Greens’ £35m loan “in the long grass”. | According to Chappell, Sports Direct would have given BHS the capital injection it needed. That would have left Greens’ £35m loan “in the long grass”. |
| But SPD would only do the deal if the pension regulators agreed that Sports Direct would be “found harmless” for the pension liabilities. | |
| The Pension Protection Fund worked almost all night, looking for a solution, but then said he needed more time - and then Green served the notice that forced the administration, Chappell claims. | |
| Yesterday, Mike Ashley told the BIS committee that he “100%” wanted to buy BHS, but didn’t reveal what went wrong. | Yesterday, Mike Ashley told the BIS committee that he “100%” wanted to buy BHS, but didn’t reveal what went wrong. |
| Chappell placing blame heavily on SPG who resisted sale to Mike Ashley "he went insane" and called in his £35m loan tipping company over | Chappell placing blame heavily on SPG who resisted sale to Mike Ashley "he went insane" and called in his £35m loan tipping company over |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 12.54pm BST | |
| 12.36pm BST | 12.36pm BST |
| 12:36 | 12:36 |
| Chappell: I made a profit on BHS | Chappell: I made a profit on BHS |
| Iain Wright, chair of the BIS committee, turns to the money which Chappell’s Retail Acquisition took out of BHS. | Iain Wright, chair of the BIS committee, turns to the money which Chappell’s Retail Acquisition took out of BHS. |
| Q: Given BHS needed working capital, why were you taking money out? | Q: Given BHS needed working capital, why were you taking money out? |
| These were fees that we had incurred in the course of the deal. | These were fees that we had incurred in the course of the deal. |
| Q: How much have you taken out? | Q: How much have you taken out? |
| I’ll give you a full outline on a spreadsheet | I’ll give you a full outline on a spreadsheet |
| Q: Give us a flavour now, please | Q: Give us a flavour now, please |
| No. You can have it as soon as practically possible.... | No. You can have it as soon as practically possible.... |
| Q: So have you made a profit? | Q: So have you made a profit? |
| Yes, I have made a profit, Chappell confirms. But he did work on this business for the last 13 months, incurring substantial fees. So he feels he earned the profit. | Yes, I have made a profit, Chappell confirms. But he did work on this business for the last 13 months, incurring substantial fees. So he feels he earned the profit. |
| Q: How do you feel about the 11,000 people who are losing their jobs? | Q: How do you feel about the 11,000 people who are losing their jobs? |
| Devastated, Chappell replies. | Devastated, Chappell replies. |
| He then promises to also give details on how much he received personally. | He then promises to also give details on how much he received personally. |
| 12.29pm BST | 12.29pm BST |
| 12:29 | 12:29 |
| Reminder, you can watch Dominic Chappell’s testimony at the top of this blog. It’s also being streamed here. | Reminder, you can watch Dominic Chappell’s testimony at the top of this blog. It’s also being streamed here. |
| 12.28pm BST | 12.28pm BST |
| 12:28 | 12:28 |
| Here’s a video clip of the jaw-dropping moment this morning, when the CEO of BHS claimed Chappell had threatened to kill him after he spotted a £1.5m transfer out of the company. | Here’s a video clip of the jaw-dropping moment this morning, when the CEO of BHS claimed Chappell had threatened to kill him after he spotted a £1.5m transfer out of the company. |
| BHS chief executive: Dominic Chappell threatened to kill me – video https://t.co/ophaDLHayF pic.twitter.com/lCFn0g0OQX | BHS chief executive: Dominic Chappell threatened to kill me – video https://t.co/ophaDLHayF pic.twitter.com/lCFn0g0OQX |
| 12.25pm BST | 12.25pm BST |
| 12:25 | 12:25 |
| Chappell talks about the “enormous lack of investment” at BHS during Green’s tenure - saying some stores had no heating. | Chappell talks about the “enormous lack of investment” at BHS during Green’s tenure - saying some stores had no heating. |
| And he blames the rows over BHS’s pension deficit for scuppering his hopes of recruiting a chairman who actually understood retail. | And he blames the rows over BHS’s pension deficit for scuppering his hopes of recruiting a chairman who actually understood retail. |
| 12.23pm BST | 12.23pm BST |
| 12:23 | 12:23 |
| "I was very open we knew nothing about retail" Chappell - the man who bought BHS. "We bought into management's plan" | "I was very open we knew nothing about retail" Chappell - the man who bought BHS. "We bought into management's plan" |
| "We knew nothing about retailing. We weren't claiming to be retailers," Chappell says | "We knew nothing about retailing. We weren't claiming to be retailers," Chappell says |
| 12.20pm BST | 12.20pm BST |
| 12:20 | 12:20 |
| On the negotiations with Green, Dominic Chappell says he told the Arcadia boss about his past - including that he had been declared bankrupt in the past (twice, I believe...) | On the negotiations with Green, Dominic Chappell says he told the Arcadia boss about his past - including that he had been declared bankrupt in the past (twice, I believe...) |
| Q: Did he know about your lack of retail experience? | Q: Did he know about your lack of retail experience? |
| I was very open, Chappell insists. We know nothing about retail. | I was very open, Chappell insists. We know nothing about retail. |
| 12.18pm BST | 12.18pm BST |
| 12:18 | 12:18 |
| Chappell: Green thought we'd fail | Chappell: Green thought we'd fail |
| Q: Do you think Sir Philip Green set you up to fail by selling BHS? | Q: Do you think Sir Philip Green set you up to fail by selling BHS? |
| Philip genuinely thought we would fail, Chappell claims. | Philip genuinely thought we would fail, Chappell claims. |
| He claims that the Arcadia boss was hostile to the property CVA which was agreed this year, which lowered BHS’s rental costs. | He claims that the Arcadia boss was hostile to the property CVA which was agreed this year, which lowered BHS’s rental costs. |
| He also takes a pop at Michael Hitchcock (who called Chappell a premier league liar this morning), claiming the former finance officer didn’t deliver. | He also takes a pop at Michael Hitchcock (who called Chappell a premier league liar this morning), claiming the former finance officer didn’t deliver. |
| Hitchcock came in and made a lot of noise that he’d deal with the landlords....He’s a man of many words and very little delivery. | Hitchcock came in and made a lot of noise that he’d deal with the landlords....He’s a man of many words and very little delivery. |
| 12.15pm BST | 12.15pm BST |
| 12:15 | 12:15 |
| Chappell losing temper "I'm sorry I was involved in the deal, you weren't" as MPs try to gain clarity on murky financing and promised | Chappell losing temper "I'm sorry I was involved in the deal, you weren't" as MPs try to gain clarity on murky financing and promised |