Sir Philip’s retail empire collapses
13,000 jobs at risk – with £250m pension black hole
SIR Philip Green’s shopping empire collapsed l ast night, putting 13,000 jobs at risk.
His Arcadia retail group includes high street fashion n a mes Topshop, Wallis, Dorothy Perkins and Burton.
It came as the tycoon was warned by MPs and City grandees that he has a ‘ moral obligation’ to plug a £250million deficit in the retail group’s pension scheme.
Labour MP Stephen Timms, chairman of the Commons work and pensions com- mittee, wrote to The Pensions Regulator to demand the savings of 10,000 former Arcadia workers should be ‘front and centre’ to avoid a repeat of the BHS scandal.
He said: ‘There is a very strong moral obligation, and I’m hoping very much that the Green family will honour that.’
If the gap i s not plugged former workers could see their pension payouts fall by more than a fifth. Sir Philip and his wife Tina became billionaires after extracting a £1.2billion dividend from Arcadia in 2005, three years after buying it for £850million.
Retail experts yesterday said the Greens failed to invest in the business for the long term or build a successful online presence. Former City minister Lord Myners, who described Sir Philip as the ‘most foulmouthed person I’ve ever met in business’, told the BBC: ‘We must think of the 10,000 members of the pension scheme, they worked their hours for Sir Philip Green.
‘The contribution to the pension f und i s deferred pay, they’ve done the work, they deserve to be paid.’ Lord Field of Birkenhead, a long-time pensions campaigner and a former MP, also urged Sir Philip to cover the pension deficit ‘in full’.
Three years ago Sir Philip was forced to put £363million into the scheme for BHS workers. Calls for him to be stripped of his knighthood came after he sold the failing store chain for £1 to a former bankrupt with no retail experience.
John Ralfe, who advised the work and pensions committee on BHS in 2016, believes the Arcadia deficit could be between £200million and £250million.
Last night Arcadia’s administrators Deloitte said there would be no immediate redundancies and that stores would continue to trade while buyers are sought.
The Money Advice Service advised customers to take back returns as soon as possible and to spend gift vouchers.