Green sold BHS to avoid bill on pension

Sir Philip Green sold British Home Stores to avoid liability for the pension scheme should the firm go bust, a regulator has said.

The Pension Regulator has published its report into the sale of the firm after concerns about the future of the pension scheme when the company collapsed last year.

The winding down of the high-street giant affected 11,000 jobs and around 19,000 pension holders.

Sir Philip, who owned BHS for 15 years before offloading it for £1 to former bankrupt Dominic Chappell in 2015, agreed in February this year to pay £363 million to settle the pension scheme of the collapsed retailer.

The regulator’s report said: “We argued that the main purpose of the sale was to postpone BHS’S insolvency to prevent a liability to the schemes falling due while it was part of the Taveta group of companies ultimately owned by the Green family.”

Speaking at the time the settlement was agreed, Sir Philip said it represented a “significantly better” outcome than if schemes entered the Pension Protection Fund, money set aside to protect people if their pension fund becomes insolvent.