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Philip Green

From Alfawiki
Philip Green
Born
Philip Nigel Ross Green

(1952-03-15) March 15, 1952 (age 74)
Croydon, England
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, businessman
Years active1970s–present
Known forFormer chairman of Arcadia Group; ownership of Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge

Sir Philip Nigel Ross Green (born 15 March 1952) is a prominent British entrepreneur and the former chairman of the retail conglomerate Arcadia Group. Between 2002 and 2020, he held ownership of leading high street fashion brands such as Topshop, Topman, and Miss Selfridge. By May 2023, the Sunday Times Rich List valued his net worth at approximately £910 million.

Green held the positions of chairman and CEO at Amber Day from 1988 until 1992. In 1999, he acquired Sears plc, followed by the purchase of British Home Stores (BHS) for £200 million in 2000. Two years later, he invested £840 million to take control of the Arcadia Group, which was subsequently privatized and removed from the London Stock Exchange. His attempts to take over Marks & Spencer in both 1999 and 2004 were unsuccessful.

At its height, the Arcadia Group under Green’s leadership managed a portfolio of retailers including Topshop, Topman, Wallis, Evans, Burton, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins, and Outfit. BHS was integrated into Arcadia between 2009 and 2015. The group operated more than 2,500 stores across the UK, alongside concessions within department stores such as Debenhams and Selfridges, as well as numerous international franchise locations. The onset of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted high street sales, leading Arcadia to enter administration; subsequently, ASOS acquired the Topshop, Topman, and Miss Selfridge brands in 2021.

Knighted during the 2006 Birthday Honours, Green earned the nickname "King of the High Street." His career has been shadowed by several disputes, particularly concerning the downfall of BHS in 2016.

Early life

Born on 15 March 1952 in Croydon, England, Green grew up in a middle-class Jewish household. His parents were Simon Green, a prosperous property developer and electrical goods retailer, and Alma. He has an elder sister named Elizabeth. The family relocated to North London’s Hampstead Garden Suburb, and at age nine, he was enrolled at the now-defunct Jewish boarding institution, Carmel College.

Following his father’s death from a heart attack when Green was twelve, he inherited responsibility for the family enterprise. Leaving boarding school at fifteen without any O-level qualifications, he initially worked for a shoe importer in East London before traveling extensively across the US, Europe, and the Far East. Upon returning at twenty-one, he launched his first venture importing jeans from the Far East to supply London retailers, financed by a £20,000 loan backed by his family.

In 1979, Green acquired stock from ten designer-label clothing outlets that had gone into receivership at discounted prices. He restored these garments to a like-new condition and secured a retail space to sell them directly to customers.

Amber Day

In 1988, Green assumed the roles of chairman and CEO at Amber Day, a discount retail chain. Although initial share performance was positive, several profit warnings caused a decline in value. This downturn culminated in his resignation in 1992 after the company failed to meet profit expectations.

Arcadia Group

Green played a key role in assisting his wife, Tina Green, with acquiring the Arcadia Group in 2002. This group owned prominent High Street brands including Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Miss Selfridge, Outfit, Topshop/Topman, and Wallis. Ownership briefly passed to Green before being transferred to Tina Green within a day; Philip continued as CEO. On 30 November 2020, following a sharp drop in high street trade attributed to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Arcadia Group entered administration.

Charitable works and other activities

In April 1980, Green founded the Kahn Charitable Trust with the mission to support disadvantaged people worldwide.

He is a patron of the Fashion Retail Academy and contributes to the retail sector charity Retail Trust. In recognition of his contributions to retail, Green was knighted during the 2006 Queen's Birthday Honours.

After Madeleine McCann went missing in 2007, Green offered a £250,000 reward for information and lent his private jet to assist the McCanns in traveling to a Papal event.

In 2010, following the passing of his mother-in-law at the Royal Marsden Cancer Hospital, Green donated $465,000 to the institution. Additionally, he spent over $150,000 on an Alexander McQueen gown at Naomi Campbell’s Fashion for Relief fundraiser. He also gave £100,000 to the Evening Standard Dispossessed Fund, aimed at aiding London's most vulnerable populations.

Reports indicate that in 2004, Green was BBC’s preferred candidate to host the UK edition of The Apprentice, but he declined due to his involvement in Arcadia’s attempted acquisition of Marks & Spencer.

Political activity

Just two weeks before the 2010 general election, Green publicly endorsed David Cameron, George Osborne, and the Conservative Party, praising them for comprehending necessary reforms with his statement: "They understand what needs to be done. They get it."

In August 2010, then-Prime Minister Cameron commissioned Green to conduct a review of UK government expenditure and procurement. Published in October 2010, Green’s Efficiency Review by Sir Philip Green exposed major deficiencies in government procurement practices, attributing these primarily to inadequate data and ineffective processes. The report highlighted a critical issue: "the Government is failing to leverage both its credit rating and its scale." Cameron endorsed the findings, emphasizing their potential for substantial cost savings. The review also recommended that enhanced centralized procurement could yield benefits across the entire public sector.

Personal life

Green and his wife, Cristina Palos, have two children; their son Brandon was once romantically linked to actress Emma Watson.

During weekdays, Green operates out of a London hotel while spending weekends with his family in Monaco. For his 50th birthday celebration, he entertained 200 guests aboard a chartered Airbus A300 in Cyprus with performances by Tom Jones and Rod Stewart. His 55th birthday involved flying 100 guests via private jets to the Four Seasons resort at Landaagiraavaru in the Maldives.

He possesses a £100 million Benetti yacht named Lionheart and owns a £20 million Gulfstream G550 private jet. Among his unique possessions is a solid gold Monopoly set gifted by his wife, featuring his own business acquisitions.

Green credits Sir Charles Clore, who established the UK retail conglomerate Sears plc, as a significant source of inspiration.

Football

Green is an avid supporter of Tottenham Hotspur. In 1987, he recommended that Spurs chairman Irving Scholar appoint Tony Berry to the club’s board. By 1991, he assisted Terry Venables in securing the final £500,000 needed to purchase shares in Tottenham. He has also played roles in notable football transfers such as that of Rio Ferdinand from Leeds United and Louis Saha from Fulham to Manchester United.

Although maintaining friendships with Everton FC chairman Bill Kenwright, Green has no intentions of making formal investments in the club. He helped facilitate share acquisitions by Planet Hollywood owner Robert Earl during Everton’s 2004 ownership dispute. Alongside Tesco CEO Terry Leahy, Green offers business guidance and supports negotiations related to player transfer fees.

Tax avoidance

In November 2010, the activist organization UK Uncut criticized Green for alleged corporate tax avoidance, highlighting his advisory role within the government. Taveta Investments, part of Arcadia and purchased in 2002, is registered under the name of Green's wife, who resides in Monaco. This arrangement significantly lowers tax obligations compared to UK residency. When Green transferred £1.2 billion to his family in 2005, the payment was financed through a loan from Arcadia, enabling the company to deduct interest expenses from its profits and thereby decrease its corporation tax liability.

Links to Richard Caring

In December 2014, Michelle Young accused Philip Green, Richard Caring, and Simon Cowell of helping her former spouse, businessman Scot Young, conceal assets to avoid paying maintenance for his ex-wife and their children. By February 2015, HSBC bankers’ documents linked to Caring revealed that part of his assets were held in cash by Philip Green’s wife, Tina Green, on Caring’s behalf. This raised concerns that Caring was channeling profits through Tina Green as a means of tax evasion.

Worker rights

Arcadia encountered backlash from organizations such as Labour Behind the Label, No Sweat, and People & Planet regarding wages and working conditions for employees both overseas and within the UK. Green refuted 2007 claims made in The Sunday Times accusing his company of employing sweatshops in Mauritius where workers received extremely low pay. In 2010, Channel 4’s Dispatches alleged that Arcadia utilized UK factories compensating workers at rates below half the legal minimum wage.

Anti-Irish outburst

During a 2003 investigation by The Guardian into a potential Safeway acquisition, Green insulted reporters by questioning whether they were from The Beano or The Guardian. He also disparaged the paper’s financial editor Paul Murphy by suggesting he could not read English and added an offensive remark about Murphy’s Irish heritage: "Mind you, he is a fucking Irishman." Subsequently, Green issued an apology directed at the Irish community to prevent a boycott among customers.

Demise of BHS

Green purchased BHS in 2000 for £200 million but sold it in 2015 for merely £1 following poor business performance. By April 2016, BHS had accumulated debts totaling £1.3 billion, including a pension shortfall amounting to £571 million. Despite these financial troubles, Green and his family extracted £586 million over fifteen years through dividends, rent payments, and loan interest. Angela Eagle, then shadow business secretary, condemned Green for profiting while leaving the Pension Protection Scheme responsible for covering the pension deficit. Simon Walker, Director General of the Institute of Directors, criticized Green’s conduct as a "lamentable failure of behaviour," underscoring his ethical obligation toward the pension fund and urging prompt investigation. After extended negotiations, Green consented to contribute a voluntary £363 million settlement toward the pension scheme.

Appearance before joint Select Committee meeting

Prior to a joint inquiry by the Business and Work and Pensions Select Committees concerning BHS’s sale, Green accused the investigation of bias and called for Frank Field’s resignation as chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee. Field responded by asserting that the pension deficit is an objective issue and emphasized that committee leadership decisions rest with Parliament rather than with Green.

Knighthood

In 2016, the House of Commons passed a motion urging the Honours Forfeiture Committee to consider revoking Green's knighthood, with 100 MPs supporting the proposal—the first time such a motion was tabled to rescind a knighthood. However, this vote held no binding authority. Following Green’s payment of £363 million into the BHS pension fund in 2017 and his avoidance of a company director disqualification in 2018, the prospect of losing his knighthood seemed improbable.

Sexual harassment and bullying allegations

In October 2018, The Daily Telegraph disclosed that a businessman had secured an injunction preventing the publication of claims concerning sexual harassment and racial discrimination against employees. The subsequent day, Labour peer Peter Hain invoked parliamentary privilege to identify Green as the individual involved. These accusations reignited demands from opposition politicians, including Frank Field, Jess Phillips, and Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable, calling for the cancellation of Green’s knighthood.

In May 2019, Green was charged with four counts of misdemeanor assault in the United States after an Arizona Pilates instructor accused him of inappropriate physical contact.

COVID-19

Amid the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic downturn, Green’s Arcadia Group shuttered 550 retail locations across the UK and furloughed approximately 14,500 staff members. The company publicly requested government financial assistance to subsidize employee furlough wages.

Lawsuit against the UK government before the European Court of Human Rights

Green initiated legal action against the UK government at the European Court of Human Rights after Lord Hain publicly named him as the businessman who sought an injunction to block his identification in a Telegraph article concerning employee misconduct allegations protected by non-disclosure agreements. The court concluded that there was no infringement of Green’s privacy rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, affirming the inviolability of parliamentary privilege.

External links

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