Damaged Goods: The Inside Story of Sir Philip Green, the Collapse of BHS and the Death of the High Street - Softcover

Shah, Oliver

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0241341213 ISBN 13: 9780241341216

Publisher: Portfolio, 2018

Synopsis

A STORY OF CORRUPTION, EGO, GREED - AND ONE TERRIBLE MISJUDGMENT. In this jaw-dropping expose, Oliver Shah uncovers the truth behind one of Britain's biggest business scandals, following Sir Philip Green's journey to the big time, the wild excesses of his heyday and his dramatic demise. Sir Philip Green was once hailed one of Britain's best businessmen. As chairman of Arcadia Group, home to brands such as Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge, Green had prime ministers and supermodels on speed dial. But the retail magnate's reputation came crashing down when Oliver Shah, a Sunday Times journalist, uncovered the methods Green used to amass his gigantic offshore fortune, and the desperation that drove his doomed BHS deal. In 2015, Green sold British Home Stores for £1 to Retail Acquisitions, owned by Dominic Chappell, a charlatan who siphoned off BHS's remaining millions before filing for administration. By the time it went under in April 2016, BHS had debts of £1.3bn, including a pension deficit of £571m. Its collapse left 11,000 employees without jobs and 20,000 pension fund members facing the loss of their benefits, prompting the government to launch an inquiry into Green's sale of the company. While one of Britain's oldest department stores boarded up its shop fronts, former employees and shoppers protested in the streets and MPs rallied in parliament, demanding Green be stripped of his knighthood. The furore over the sale subsided in 2017 when Green agreed a £363m deal with the Pensions Regulator, but with revelations surrounding Topshop's pension deficit now surfacing, could tragedy strike again? Oliver Shah is the award-winning City Editor of The Sunday Times and one of the most respected national commentators on business and the high street. He was named business journalist of the year at the 2017 Press Awards for his investigation into Sir Philip Green and was named business journalist of the year at the 2017 London Press Club Awards. Shah has been interviewed on Radio Four's Today Programme, BBC News, BBC Five Live and Sky News. Aged 34, Shah lives in east London.

About this title

About the Author

Oliver Shah is the award-winning City Editor of The Sunday Times and one of the most respected national commentators on business and the high street. He was named business journalist of the year at the 2017 Press Awards for his investigation into Philip Green and was named business journalist of the year at the 2017 London Press Club Awards. Shah has been interviewed on Radio Four's Today Programme, BBC News, BBC Five Live and Sky News. He studied English Literature at Cambridge University and journalism at City University before joining City AM in 2009 and The Sunday Times in 2010. Aged 33, Shah lives in east London.

Oliver Shah is the award-winning City Editor of The Sunday Times and one of the most respected national commentators on business and the high street. He was named business journalist of the year at the 2017 Press Awards for his investigation into Philip Green and was named business journalist of the year at the 2017 London Press Club Awards. Shah has been interviewed on Radio Four's Today Programme, BBC News, BBC Five Live and Sky News. He studied English Literature at Cambridge University and journalism at City University before joining City AM in 2009 and The Sunday Times in 2010. Aged 33, Shah lives in east London.

Edition details

• Publisher: Portfolio
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0241341213
• ISBN 13: 9780241341216
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 368