British Home Stores

About British Home Stores

British Home Stores, founded in 1928, collapsed in April 2016. Billionaire Sir Philip Green had sold BHS to former racing driver Dominic Chappell for 1 in 2015. BHS had a 571 million pension deficit. MPs accused Green of extracting over 400 million in dividends during his ownership while underinvesting in the business. Green eventually contributed 363 million to the pension fund. Chappell was convicted of failing to provide pension information. 11,000 jobs were lost. 164 stores closed. The collapse was politically explosive. Green was pressured to be stripped of his knighthood but retained it. The case led to reforms in pension regulation and corporate governance. The Pensions Regulator was given additional powers. The BHS collapse became a symbol of corporate greed and regulatory failure.