Sir Philip Green has suffered a further blow to his reputation after the BHS scandal crossed the Atlantic thanks to Vanity Fair.
The renowned US magazine has included a lengthy feature about the billionaire tycoon in its latest issue, describing him as “Britain’s Donald Trump” on its cover.
The article is headlined “How Sir Philip Green made an outrageous fortune and outraged an entire nation”. It describes the furore the collapse of BHS has caused in the UK and examines Green’s background, quoting supporters of the tycoon in the US but also critics such as Labour MP Frank Field.
The coverage of the scandal in the US is significant because Green has expanded Topshop into large American cities and the US private equity firm Leonard Green owns 25% of the chain.
BHS collapsed into administration in April, with the last of its 164 shops closing last month. The demise of the retailer led to 11,000 job losses and left a £571m pension deficit.
Green sold the department store chain for £1 to serial bankrupt Dominic Chappell 13 months before it collapsed. The tycoon, his family, and other BHS investors collected more than £580m from the company during the 15 years he ran it.
The Vanity Fair article likens Green to Trump because of his “flowing white curly locks, perma-tan, and unshakeable brashness”. William D Cohan, the award-winning journalist who wrote the article, claims that Green called him while he was writing it to say: “You’re on trial. Let’s see how well behaved you are.”
The feature finishes with another quote from Green. The tycoon is quoted as telling Cohan: “You’re going to find England, unfortunately, is a place where you get a lot of jealous, envious, you know, negative people. That’s how it is.”
Green has denied putting pressure on the Pensions Regulator and dragging his feet over reaching a settlement concerning the pensions of 20,000 former BHS workers. He said on Friday he was working to resolve the problem every day and that the process took time because it was highly complex.
Green said he felt compelled to deny allegations about his conduct during negotiations over a deal. He said Field, chairman of the parliamentary committee that investigated the demise of BHS, was wrong to accuse him of obstructing a settlement.
“Mr Field suggested in the House of Commons on Wednesday there was a lack of willingness on my part to reach a settlement with regard to the pension fund. This is untrue, totally inaccurate and unhelpful in solving this issue,” Green said.
He also denied reports he was trying to extract concessions from the Pensions Regulator in return for injecting money into the BHS pension scheme. “There have also been suggestions in the press that I have tried to pressurise the regulator, or, as was stated on the front page of one newspaper, ‘blackmail’ it. This is wholly untrue. I am not in control of the process. I am following the process which has been set down by the regulator,” he said.
Green told MPs in June he would “sort” the pension deficit, which threatens to severely reduce the pensions of the chain’s former employees. He and his family took more than £400m out of BHS during 15 years of ownership.
The businessman said he and his team had been cooperating with the Pensions Regulator for 17-18 months. He said he had always intended to secure a better outcome for pensioners than the Pension Protection Fund could achieve.
He said: “I would like to apologise sincerely to all the BHS people involved in this sorry affair. Contrary to all the coverage I have been working on this issue on a daily basis, and will continue to do so with my best efforts to achieve a satisfactory outcome for all involved as soon as possible.”
Green and Field have been at war over BHS for months after Field criticised Green before he attended a parliamentary inquiry into the chain’s collapse. Green is battling to hold on to his knighthood, which is under review after complaints about his ownership of BHS.
