TOP STROP!
Ex-Topshop tycoon Sir Philip Green bares his (brand new?) teeth in kerfuff le at Harry’s Bar
HE’S never been shy about chewing out his critics – and last week controversial retail boss Sir Philip Green turned on photographers who snapped him outside an exclusive London club.
But perhaps he was just keen to show off his new gnashers, as the former Topshop tycoon was in town to visit his dentist.
One onlooker who saw the exchange outside Harry’s Bar in Mayfair on Monday night said: ‘Once he saw the paparazzi, he tried to get away but realised he wouldn’t make it. He was not happy at all.’
But friends of Sir Philip, who is famous for his expletive-laden rants, last night insisted: ‘He didn’t shout at them and wasn’t rude at all. They ran down the road chasing him as he was getting into a taxi.’
The 69-year-old is understood to have been on a brief visit to Britain from his £100million superyacht in Monaco, in part to have dental treatment.
He was accompanied by his wife Tina, 72, who was recently named in the explosive Pandora Papers about offshore tax havens.
The leaked documents showed that she bought four multi-millionpound properties while BHS – the department store she once owned with her husband – teetered on the brink of collapse.
Harry’s Bar is a short walk from Topshop’s former flagship store on Oxford Street. It was the jewel in the crown of Sir Philip’s Arcadia retail empire before it collapsed last November, leaving 10,000 workers out of a job.
Arcadia’s assets, including the luxury furnishings of Sir Philip’s boardroom, are being sold, the Topshop brand was acquired by online retailer Asos, and Ikea is set to move into the Oxford Street building following its £378million sale last week.
The Greens previously sold BHS for £1 to former bankrupt Dominic Chappell, who was last year sentenced to six years in jail for tax evasion over the 2015 sale.
The chain collapsed the following year, and MPs subsequently dubbed Sir Philip ‘the unacceptable face of capitalism’ over the affair. Despite the fall of the one-time high street retail king, the Greens are still worth £910 million, according to The Sunday Times Rich List, and continue to enjoy the trappings of their wealth.
In July, Lady Green and her son Brandon and daughter Chloe were spotted on the family’s yacht Lionheart in Saint Tropez on the French Riviera.
If Sir Philip wants advice on how to deal with the paparazzi, perhaps he could consult Harry Potter actress Emma Watson, who, according to reports last month, has become friendly with 28-yearold Brandon.