Green told: Sell yachts to save pension
ANGRY protesters yesterday demanded that Sir Philip Green sell his luxury yachts to plug British Home Stores’ £571million pension black hole as the remaining branches closed.
Sir Philip has come under increasing pressure to sort out the pension deficit and was accused of plundering the company by veteran Labour MP Frank Field.
The final 22 BHS branches closed yesterday, but thousands of employees face uncertainty over their pensions.
Furious MPs branded the former BHS owner as the “unacceptable face of capitalism” earlier this summer when he appeared before MPs and campaigners called for him to sell his yachts to plug the gap.
Jon Baud, 38, from Ruislip, west London, was part of a group of demonstrators gathering signatures calling for the move.
Holding a sign reading: “Sell your yachts, pay the pensions, shifty” and “Workers’ rights and people’s livelihoods before profit and greed” he said: “The BHS employees have got our support.”
Shopper David Gibson, 50, said: “He’s just swanning off in his boat. I do think it’s Philip Green’s fault. He’s done nothing for years, not put money in the business, or trends, or fashions.”
The Pensions Regulator can force contributions if employers have avoided paying into the pensions pot. And reports emerged yesterday suggesting that the 64-year-old businessman could make a voluntary contribution of about £300million towards the deficit.
Workers are hoping for a rescue package because it would be a better deal than if their scheme went into the Pension Protection Fund.
The regulator had initially excluded Sir Philip’s wife Tina from the investigation. But yesterday it emerged that she could also be ordered to contribute towards the retirement pots of thousands of former employees.
Lady Green owns Taveta Investments, which is the owner of Arcadia, which is run by Sir Philip. Arcadia used to own BHS before the business tycoon sold the company to threetimes bankrupt Dominic Chappell 13 months before it collapsed.
The regulator is thought to be particularly concerned about more than £400million in dividends extracted by the Greens from BHS between 2002 and 2004, before a huge deficit was allowed to build up in the pension scheme.
Labour MP Frank Field said: “The net is closing around Sir Philip Green. It now includes his wife’s assets and the Serious Fraud Office is looking to see whether there is any evidence of fraud by deception.
“A number of bulldogs have firmly got their teeth into Sir Philip’s backside, and there they will remain until a cheque is produced.”
A spokeswoman for Sir Philip declined to comment.