Ex-BHS owner hit by £124,000 bill for pension law breach

FORMER BHS owner Dominic Chappell has been ordered to pay more than £120,000 for breaching pension law when the firm collapsed with the loss of thousands of jobs.

The 52-year-old ex-racing driver was found guilty in January of not giving the Pensions Regulator (TPR) vital documents about the company’s pension scheme after it went into administration in 2016.

Chappell, inset , of Blandford Forum, Dorset, was resentenced at Hove Crown Court after losing an appeal against his conviction earlier this year.

Judge Christine Henson QC criticised him for showing a “complete lack of remorse” in relation to his offences, which represented a “blatant” refusal to comply with pension law.

She ordered Chappell to pay a £50,000 fine and £73,900 in court costs.

As the director of company Retail Acquisitions, Chappell bought BHS for £1 from billionaire Sir Philip Green in 2015.

BHS went into administration in April 2016, leaving a £571m pension deficit – with Sir Philip later agreeing to pay £363m towards this.

Prosecutor Alex Stein argued Chappell had shown a “persistent, deliberate and blatant” refusal to comply with pension law.

He said the entrepreneur had not provided “full and frank” disclosure of his financial information ahead of sentencing – including in relation to a yacht called Maverick II and a property in Marbella.

Representing himself in court because he cannot afford legal fees, Chappell denied owning the boat and said he temporarily held the Spanish home in trust for his sick mother at no gain to himself.

He also denied having any “hidden assets” and said he did not have “cash available” to pay any fine.

Chappell argued that it had been “nigh on impossible” to provide information to TPR because he was locked out of the BHS office upon its collapse.