Dominic Chappell must pay at least £50m to cover losses incurred by BHS prior to its collapse after a judge determined that the former owner sought to “plunder” the UK retailer.
On Tuesday, the High Court ruled that Chappell, who acquired the chain from Sir Philip Green for £1, is liable for repayments demanded by BHS liquidators, who sued him for wrongful trading, misfeasance, and breach of fiduciary duty.
The Financial Times reports that Mr. Justice Leech stated that Chappell, who was sentenced to six years in prison in 2020 for tax evasion, had no realistic plan to secure working capital when he acquired BHS.
He said Chappell took the chance to “plunder the BHS Group whenever possible.”
-
Related Story
-
At a hearing on Tuesday, the judge declared that Chappell “should make the payments” outlined in a draft order.
According to the title, the order includes £21.5m for wrongful trading, £17.5m for breach of fiduciary duty, plus additional costs and interest, bringing the total to at least £50m.
He is also required to make a separate payment for a misfeasance trading claim, with the amount to be decided later. The order awaits final approval from the judge.
Liquidators sued Chappell, a former racing driver with no experience running a large retailer when he took over BHS, and two other directors, accusing them of seeking personal financial gain.
They argued that the department store chain should have stopped trading earlier to minimise creditor losses.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
