Former bankrupt who bought high street retailer that collapsed a year later is sued for failure to provide information

Dominic Chappell, the former owner of BHS, is to be prosecuted by the pensions watchdog for failing to provide information for an investigation into its sale.

Chappell headed Retail Acquisitions, the company that acquired BHS for £1 from Sir Philip Green in 2015. A year later, it collapsed with the loss of 11,000 jobs and a pension deficit of as much as £571m.

The Pensions Regulator is prosecuting Chappell for failing to comply with three notices for information issued under section 72 of the Pensions Act 2004. Failure to provide such information without a reasonable excuse is a criminal offence that can result in a fine.

Chappell has been summonsed to appear at Brighton magistrates court on 20 September to face three charges of neglecting or refusing to provide information and documents without a reasonable excuse.

Keir Greenaway, national officer for the GMB union which represented some BHS staff, said: “It’s about time the Pensions Regulator realised it does have teeth and starts using them to protect the interests of working people.

“GMB hopes today’s decision by the Pensions Regulator to step up is not just motivated by the profile of this case but a sign of things to come.”



Green owned BHS for 15 years until he sold it to Chappell, a former bankrupt with no retail experience. Retail Acquisitions received payments of up to £25m from BHS despite owning the department store chain for just 13 months until it collapsed.



The regulator has already agreed a £363m cash settlement with Green to rescue the BHS pension scheme and halted legal proceedings against the billionaire. However, it is understood to be seeking as much as £17m from Chappell and Retail Acquisitions in relation to the scheme.

Chappell was sent a formal warning notice by the regulator in November in which it made clear it was using its legal powers to seek funds towards filling the BHS pension deficit and ongoing support of the scheme.

He had six months to reply and set out his case after which a determinations panel, independent of the investigations team, should decide whether he has to make a contribution and how much it should be.

But the regulator has been unable to access information it requires about the BHS sale process in order to determine the anti-avoidance measures against Chappell, leading to the legal case to be heard next month.

The former bankrupt has previously pledged to fight that legal action, saying the black hole in the scheme was not his fault.

Frank Field MP, who led a parliamentary inquiry into the demise of BHS, said: “Act two was a long time coming and this play will get more exciting as it goes on. There are many further acts to be played before full justice is gained for the 11,000 people who lost their jobs and so that pensioners can rejoice.”

Pensions experts have warned that a legal battle about the BHS scheme could take years. Although the regulator can legally force Chappell to make a payment, he can take an appeal against such a decision to the supreme court.