Sir Philip Green to pay BHS pension deficit

Sir Philip Green could face a demand of 280 million pounds over high street department store BHS’s pension deficit, more than three times the sum he has so far offered to pay.

The Pensions Regulator is pursuing the billionaire boss of Arcadia for a contribution a year after he sold the lossmaking store chain for 1 pound to a little-known consortium.

BHS’s retirement schemes, which have a shortfall of 571 million pounds, are due to enter the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) as the company tries to stay afloat by negotiating rent cuts from its landlords.

The move into the PPF leaves about 13,000 current and former staff below retirement age facing cuts of at least 10 percent to their benefits. The cost to the PPF of covering BHS’s pension liabilities would be about 300 million pounds. Green could be asked to pay 280 million of that, with BHS in line for 20 million pounds.

The tycoon has so far made an offer of 80 million pounds, half of which payable in cash and the other half in the form of a charge held over BHS assets.