Brazen BHS boss: Don’t ban me from driving ... I can’t afford a chauffeur!
Serial bankrupt STILL rakes in £260k a year
THE serial bankrupt who bought BHS for £1 was banned from driving yesterday – despite claiming that losing his licence could hinder the inquiry into the store’s collapse.
Ex-racing driver Dominic Chappell, 49, was caught doing 63mph in a 40mph zone at the wheel of his £75,000, 15-plate Range Rover.
The wealthy businessman told magistrates he could not afford a chauffeur – and that he would suffer abuse from the public if he was forced to catch buses and trains into London. He even suggested banning him from driving could hamper the investigation into BHS’s demise and the resulting loss of 11,000 jobs.
Chappell said he could not be expected to carry boxes of documents without the use of a car as he helps to sort out the ‘unfortunate and public mess’. He claimed he spends up to four days a week answering queries from two parliamentary committees – the insolvency service and the pensions regulator.
Sporting a fresh tan, smart grey suit and yellow tie, the father of two said it would be a ‘stretch’ to spend any of his £5,000-a-week income – equivalent to £260,000 a year – on taxis or chauffeur-driven cars.
He claimed he had already suffered ‘abuse’ and ‘strong language’ from other passengers when he caught the train from his Dorset mansion.
But magistrate Jenny Gove said Chappell would not suffer ‘exceptional hardship’ by having his licence taken away.
Chappell, whose Retail Acquisitions firm bought BHS from Sir Philip Green last year, admitted breaking the speed limit while driving in Andover, Hampshire, in April. He faced an automatic ban as he already had ten points on his licence for three other speeding offences.
Aldershot magistrates’ court heard his home is two miles from a bus stop and around 20 miles from a train station. His wife drives 100 miles each day taking their son to a private boarding school, where their daughter is a weekly boarder.
Chappell, who has competed in the Le Mans 24-hour race four times, said he has to attend meetings in London four days a week as part of the BHS inquiry. His lawyer Michael Levy said that his ‘particular commitment’ to the store’s collapse resulted in an ‘exceptional situation’.
Mr Levy added: ‘It may be there is a genuine public interest in this defendant helping these people as much as he possibly can, to the full and maximum.
‘Clearly if he is not able to do that the whole process is going to be more difficult and drawn out and take longer.
‘Because of the exceptional nature of what he’s doing and who he is trying to assist in the resolution of this very unfortunate and public mess that has arisen, I would invite the court to give him one last chance.’
Chappell said he had been the victim of abuse from the public, adding: ‘I have only once taken the train to London and I was in the carriage when two people started making quite strong allegations and suggestions.’
Magistrates heard that when Chappell was caught speeding, he told officers: ‘This will cost me £25,000. I’ve been driving since I was 18 and have never had an accident. I drive an average of 35,000 miles a year and I used to be a race car driver.’
Chappell, from Blandford Forum, Dorset, was handed another six points on his licence, triggering an automatic ban. He was also fined £665 and ordered to pay £150 in costs.
The three-times bankrupt with no retail experience bought BHS from Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group in 2015, before the store collapsed earlier this year.
He has been accused of using the chain as his ‘personal piggy bank’ after extracting millions of pounds from the firm as it teetered on the brink. Last month he denied the £2.6million package he took – including a £600,000 salary – contributed to the demise of the brand.
‘I’ve only once taken the train’