Former BHS directors found liable for wrongful trading

Two former BHS directors, Lennart Henningson and Dominic Chandler, have been fined more than £18m following a High Court ruling that they had breached their fiduciary duties ahead of the company’s collapse in April 2016.

The case was brought forward by the liquidators, who accused the directors of wrongful trading, misfeasance, and breach of statutory and fiduciary duties in the year running up to the retailer’s administration.

In the High Court, Judge Leech ordered the directors to pay £6.5m each after it found they were liable for wrongful trading and misfeasance between March 2015 to April 2016. They were also ordered to pay a further £5m for breaching their corporate duties by continuing to trade rather than entering an insolvency process.

Former BHS owner Dominic Chappell, who returned to jail in March over breaching licence conditions, also had the same claims brought against him but was unable to attend the trial due to ill health. The claims against him will be considered further later this month.