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BHS and Phillip Green

(72 Posts)
GillT57 Mon 25-Apr-16 12:20:29

Very sad for those who are about to lose their jobs ( around 11,000 of them), but really hope that the administrators Duff and Phelps go after Philip Green for the pension funds which he has basically stolen. He has bled the company dry, taken out massive amounts of money ( and not paid uk tax on most of it). Meanwhile, he has just ordered his third yacht. I have always loathed the man but he really needs to be called to account for this. Why do greedy, tax avoiding gits like him get knighted?

Jane10 Wed 27-Apr-16 17:59:07

I can only think that these people only look at numbers not people! Of course these are businesses not charities but somehow other businesses seem to manage without such blatant asset stripping. Shame he didn't put as much thought and effort into improving the business as he seems to have put into enriching himself.

daphnedill Wed 27-Apr-16 18:28:41

I think I read somewhere that Phillip Green's wife gave him a solid gold Monopoly board with his own companies. Sadly, that really does seem to be how he thinks of people.

He's not the only one. The man who bought BHS sounds just as bad and there have been others. Even closer to home, I know somebody who has been bankrupt twice, leaving debts to companies unpaid, which in some cases has bankrupted them. He's started up again and I wouldn't be surprised if it happens again. His assets are in his partner's name and can't be touched by creditors.

Governments and the laws they make should be protecting people from such parasites.

daphnedill Wed 27-Apr-16 18:31:49

Sorry about a link (I know some people don't like them), but I thought this article about the Pension Protection Fund was interesting.

Small, medium, honest businesses are the ones who will end up paying for BHS pensions.

daphnedill Wed 27-Apr-16 18:33:05

Ooops! Forgot the link www.theguardian.com/business/2016/apr/25/pension-protection-fund-bhs-retirement-ppf

Jane10 Wed 27-Apr-16 19:10:01

A small bakery near us went bust but the owner insisted on paying back all his creditors even though it took everything he had. We were all so impressed that we are very happy to patronise his new business. He's a very decent man unlike some!

Jalima Wed 27-Apr-16 19:15:22

I agree, I agree, I agree

The only thing we can hope for is that his solid gold monopoly board is heavy enough to capsize his yacht with him on it and he does a Maxwell.

The taxpayer will be paying the BHS pensions - the taxpayer who pays honestly; he didn't even contribute to that.

I think the chap (his name has gone completely) who bought it for £1 helped himself to quite a bit of money too. I think he had to pay it back kitty

daphnedill Wed 27-Apr-16 19:37:16

Apparently it's not general taxpayers who will be paying, but other businesses/pension schemes, who have to pay a levy. These are probably the very businesses PG has been trying to take over, including M & S.

Jalima Wed 27-Apr-16 20:29:57

Oh yes, I remember when he tried to take over M&S

durhamjen Wed 27-Apr-16 20:58:39

www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2016/04/27/questions-for-pwc-on-the-bhs-limited-accounts/
Their accountants were PwC. Well known in Panama and BVI.

grumppa Wed 27-Apr-16 21:35:21

Pension scheme assets are protected from theft (not from incompetent investing), but final salary schemes have been hit by Gordon Brown's tax treatment of them and by the welcome but unfortunate fact that more and more pensioners are living longer and longer. As a result these schemes have mostly been closed to new members to try to cap the mortality risk - more of a survival risk actually - and regularly have to have their assets topped up by the employers who have set them up for their employees. Add to that the liability to pay levies to support schemes like the BHS one, and the difficulty of getting a decent yield on investments nowadays, and there is a problem.

Perish the thought that Green was paying dividends to Lady Green in Monaco when he should have been topping up the pension scheme!

Perish the thought also that Chappell should be allowed anywhere near BHS again.

M0nica Thu 28-Apr-16 16:27:33

Chappell should be being investigated by the appropriate regulator and banned from serving as a director.

While bankruptcy is often the trial some entrepreneurs have to pass through before hitting on the right business, this is Chapells third failure. It seems to be a habit he should be stopped from repeating again.

durhamjen Wed 08-Jun-16 21:52:33

www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jun/08/bhs-owner-boss-says-dominic-chappell-had-his-fingers-in-the-till

This should be a police matter.

durhamjen Mon 13-Jun-16 18:52:16

Philip Green has said that Frank Field should resign from the committee as he is prejudiced.
This is Frank Field's response.

www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2016/06/13/field-on-green/

practical Tue 14-Jun-16 12:38:46

If someone fiddles the state claim falsely their assets an be taken to pay back so why can't this happen in this case? after all the pension they will get comes from public funds so it is the same rules surely

petra Tue 14-Jun-16 13:43:45

practical Easier said than done. Phillip Green doesn't actually own anything. His wife does, and she's based in Monaco.

practical Tue 14-Jun-16 16:10:39

He's just ordered a new boat or something hasn't he they could find who placed the order who is paying then confiscate it. There must be some whey to get him.

Deedaa Tue 14-Jun-16 20:44:19

And he describes being told to appear on their terms as "Mob Rule". Has anyone explained the idea of a democratically elected government to him? At the very least I would love to see him stripped of his knighthood.

Jalima Tue 14-Jun-16 21:11:42

I'd like to see all three of them in prison.
Unfortunately, I don't think anything they have done is illegal.
Therefore the law must be changed.

durhamjen Tue 14-Jun-16 23:29:59

If he doesn't turn up, and answer questions, he will be breaking the law. His tax situation is illegal.

daphnedill Wed 15-Jun-16 00:07:23

I don't think Green's tax situation is illegal (could be wrong). Arcadia is owned by his wife, who is a Monaco resident.

petra Wed 15-Jun-16 07:56:57

Practicle If it's any consolation Lady Green has had to cancel the delivery of the new boat because of the bad publicity. She is very upset as she had planned her annual Manaco grand prix party to coincide with the delivery. I feel her pain.

daphnedill Wed 15-Jun-16 08:11:49

Oh no! ~lol~

Does that mean there's a second-hand boat going cheap?

annsixty Wed 15-Jun-16 08:38:37

I would be interested but mooring fees may tip the balance for me. Perhaps with next April's pension rise it might be manageable!

petra Wed 15-Jun-16 08:45:25

annsixty Don't worry about the mooring fees, live offshore.

annsixty Wed 15-Jun-16 08:49:23

I hadn't considered that. I will make some enquiries and keep you updated. Next years hols could all be on me smile