Former BHS Directors ordered to pay £18m for roles in chain’s collapse

Two former Directors of BHS have been ordered by the courts to pay at least £18 million to creditors over their roles in the collapse of the retail giant back in 2016.

A court found Lennart Henningson and Dominic Chandler liable for wrongful trading, misfeasance trading and misfeasance over their management of the High Street chain, according to the BBC.

BHS made headlines when it fell into administration with a billion pounds worth of trading liabilities and pension debts in 2016. This came after retail tycoon Sir Philip Green sold the struggling business to Dominic Chappell for £1 in March 2015.

Just over a year into his ownership, the chain collapsed. This resulted in 11,000 job losses and a shortfall of £571 million in pensions.

Sir Philip Green was heavily criticised for agreeing to the headline-worthy deal. In 2017, he agreed to pay £363 million into the pension fund of BHS as part of a settlement with pension regulators and trustees.

Sir Philip Green

Earlier this week, Justice Leech ruled that Henningson and Chandler had breached their corporate duties by continuing to trade despite knowing there was no reasonable chance that BHS could avoid insolvency.

Each has been ordered to pay £6.5 million for wrongful trading and £5.6 million between them for the charges of misfeasance. What's more, both former Directors could face additional fines of up to £133.5 million for misfeasance trading.

Justice Leech will further rule on what more Henningson and Chandler owe later in June. Claims faced by Dominic Chappell will be considered at a separate hearing this month.

Dominic Chappell

Dominic Chappell was sentenced to jail in November 2020 for evading tax on his £2.2 million income after purchasing BHS.

He avoided paying approximately £600,000 in taxes. At the time of his conviction, the disgraced businessman blamed Green for misleading him over the BHS deal. In November 2023, he was released after only serving half his sentence.