The former owner of BHS was accused of “pocketing” £7m from a property deal at a meeting of the select committee investigating the company’s collapse.
Dominic Chappell, who bought BHS in March 2015, was accused this morning of taking a chunk of the £32m sale of North West House, NW1, for his company Retail Acquisition.
North West House was bought by Alexander Dellal, the grandson of property developer “Black Jack” Dellal.
David Topp, chief executive of BHS until it collapsed, told MPs that only £25m went to the company, claiming that Chappell “had his fingers in the till”.
The parliamentary committee also heard from Michael Hitchcock, the BHS’s former financial adviser, who accused Chappell of having secret plans to sell the profitable parts of BHS and funnel the assets to Retail Acquisition.
Hitchcock added that the plan would have sabotaged the efforts BHS was making to save its business when it opted for a company voluntary agreement in March.
Chappell, who is due to give evidence today, was said to have consulted accountancy firm Grant Thornton on his plan.
