Dominic Chappell's former advisors to be probed over BHS sale

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Stephen Bourne and Mark Tasker are being questioned by The Insolvency Service as part of its ongoing inquiry into the collapse of BHS
Both consultants were advisors to Dominic Chappell prior to his purchase of BHS
The Insolvency Service has also questioned other members of the Retail Acquisitions team

Two consultants who advised Dominic Chappell prior to his £1 purchase of BHS will be questioned by The Insolvency Service.

Former Retail Acquisitions board members and advisors to Chappell, Stephen Bourne and Mark Tasker, have been contacted by The Insolvency Service as part of it ongoing investigation into the collapse of BHS, The Sunday Times reported.

Bourne and Tasker stood down on the day that Retail Acquisitions’ £1 purchase of BHS went through, and were paid £387,500 respectively for their role in the acquisition of the business.

The Insolvency Service, which is understood to have conducted interviews with other members of the Retail Acquisitions consortium, are examining the 13 months between BHS being sold in March last year and entering administration the following April.

Green’s apology

Last week, Sir Philip Green released a statement apologising for the £571m pension gap resulting from the retailer’s collapse, and said he was working “daily” to find a resolution.

Green and MP Frank Field, who led the parliamentary inquiry into BHS’s collapse, have been engaged in a war of words over the fate of BHS’s pensioners and former employees since its collapse.

The chair of Parliament’s Work and Pensions Committee said in a response to Green’s statement: “I welcome Sir Philip Green’s statement.

“But a major barrier to settlement is not the complications, although there are plenty, but a willingness to put enough money into that settlement which ensures that no pensioner is worse off than the day Sir Philip took over BHS.”

The 88-year-old retailer could return to British high streets under the owner of its international and online divisions Al Mana, which is understood to be looking for a UK operating partner.