A London law firm partner is one of four men who bought BHS from Sir Philip Green for £1, just one year before it collapsed. Mark Tasker, a partner at Bates Wells Braithwaite, has declined to reveal how much he was paid for his role.
Topshop tycoon Sir Philip Green bought BHS for £200 million in 2000, but failed to turn the brand around and sold it last March to a four-month-old company called Retail Acquisitions Limited. Analysts were baffled by the purchase given that none of RAL's directors, who RollOnFriday analysts believe may have stumped up 25p each, had a retail background. They comprised celebrity lawyer Eddie Parladorio, accountant Stephen Bourne, two-time bankrupt Dominic Chappell and Tasker, who is the head of charity specialist BWB's corporate and commercial practice.
At the time of the ill-fated purchase, RAL's chairman said it was “a fantastic opportunity to breathe new life into this iconic British high street brand". A year later, despite the fashion know-how of two solicitors and an accountant, BHS fell into administration with the potential loss of 11,000 jobs. In the wake of the collapse, the pensions watchdog has launched a probe into a £571 million deficit in the company's pension fund, while Chappell has been criticised for siphoning money out of the business. In a sign of how toxic relations become at RAL, Parladorio is reported to have smashed up furniture at BHS' head office when he discovered Chappell was trying to extract the VAT from the sale of the Oxford Street store.
Tasker resigned as a non-executive director the day after the company acquired BHS in March 2015, and retains a 2.5% shareholding in RAL. The BWB partner is now facing questions over reports that he and his fellow RAL directors paid themselves £3 million of an £8.4 million loan which RAL took from BHS immediately after its purchase. Tasker's PR team (yes, he has his own) told RollOnFriday that the BWB partner "was not aware of any loan arrangements between BHS and RAL" at the time of his resignation. It also said that his "fee arrangement with RAL is private and confidential".
An inquiry has been launched into the acquisition by the Business, Innovations and Skills Commons Select Committee, which has summoned Chappell for a grilling later this month. Tasker's PR team told RollOnFriday that as far as Tasker is aware, he has not been asked to appear. Meanwhile, BWB said that Tasker was involved in the acquisition of BHS "in a purely personal capacity, quite separate from his role as a partner at BWB".
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Topshop tycoon Sir Philip Green bought BHS for £200 million in 2000, but failed to turn the brand around and sold it last March to a four-month-old company called Retail Acquisitions Limited. Analysts were baffled by the purchase given that none of RAL's directors, who RollOnFriday analysts believe may have stumped up 25p each, had a retail background. They comprised celebrity lawyer Eddie Parladorio, accountant Stephen Bourne, two-time bankrupt Dominic Chappell and Tasker, who is the head of charity specialist BWB's corporate and commercial practice.
At the time of the ill-fated purchase, RAL's chairman said it was “a fantastic opportunity to breathe new life into this iconic British high street brand". A year later, despite the fashion know-how of two solicitors and an accountant, BHS fell into administration with the potential loss of 11,000 jobs. In the wake of the collapse, the pensions watchdog has launched a probe into a £571 million deficit in the company's pension fund, while Chappell has been criticised for siphoning money out of the business. In a sign of how toxic relations become at RAL, Parladorio is reported to have smashed up furniture at BHS' head office when he discovered Chappell was trying to extract the VAT from the sale of the Oxford Street store.
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Should have put it on Leicester? |
Tasker resigned as a non-executive director the day after the company acquired BHS in March 2015, and retains a 2.5% shareholding in RAL. The BWB partner is now facing questions over reports that he and his fellow RAL directors paid themselves £3 million of an £8.4 million loan which RAL took from BHS immediately after its purchase. Tasker's PR team (yes, he has his own) told RollOnFriday that the BWB partner "was not aware of any loan arrangements between BHS and RAL" at the time of his resignation. It also said that his "fee arrangement with RAL is private and confidential".
An inquiry has been launched into the acquisition by the Business, Innovations and Skills Commons Select Committee, which has summoned Chappell for a grilling later this month. Tasker's PR team told RollOnFriday that as far as Tasker is aware, he has not been asked to appear. Meanwhile, BWB said that Tasker was involved in the acquisition of BHS "in a purely personal capacity, quite separate from his role as a partner at BWB".