Sir Philip Green (born 15 March 1952) is a British billionaire businessman who owns some of the United Kingdom's largest retailers, including Bhs and the Arcadia Group. He is Britain's fourth richest man, with a total of 2300 shops in the UK and assets worth around £3.61bn. His assets currently control 12% of the UK clothing retail market, making his empire the second-largest in the sector. The leader, Marks and Spencer, has been the target of two unsuccessful takeover bids from Green. March 15 is the 74th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (75th in leap years). ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... It has been suggested that Central Croydon be merged into this article or section. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the  United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Unified  -  by Athelstan 927 AD  Area  -  Total 130... A businessman (sometimes businesswoman, female; or businessperson, gender neutral) is a generic term for a wide range of people engaged in profit-oriented enterprises, generally the management of a company. ... March 15 is the 74th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (75th in leap years). ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... BHS may refer to Bhs - a British retailer (British Home Stores) Barbershop Harmony Society Butthole Surfers British Horse Society British Hydrological Society Baggage Handling System the ISO 3-letter country code for the Bahamas Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia Black Hand Studios, creator of the Anti-Cheat device Renguard... The Arcadia Group is a British company that owns the high street retailers includes Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, Burton, Evans, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Outfit. ... Marks and Spencer plc (known also as M&S and sometimes colloquially as Marks and Sparks) is the largest retailer in the United Kingdom by sales. ...

Biography

Philip Green was born into a Jewish family on March 15, 1952 in Croydon, in South London, and has a sister, Elizabeth, five years his senior. The family moved to Hampstead Garden Suburb, a middle-class enclave in north London, and at the age of nine he was sent to the now-closed Jewish boarding school Carmel College in Oxfordshire. When his father died of a heart attack, at the age of twelve, Philip was in line to inherit the family business. After leaving boarding school at 15, he worked for a shoe importer before travelling to the US, Europe and the Far East. It was on his return that he set up his first business with a £20,000 loan, importing jeans from the Far East to sell on to retailers in London. The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination... March 15 is the 74th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (75th in leap years). ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... It has been suggested that Central Croydon be merged into this article or section. ... Carmel College was a Jewish co-educational boarding school situated in Mongewell, near Wallingford, Oxfordshire between 1948 and 1997. ... Oxfordshire (abbreviated Oxon, from the Latinised form Oxonia) is a county in the South East of England, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire. ...

In 1979, Green bought up the entire stock of ten designer label clothes sellers who had gone onto receivership for extremely low prices. He then had the newly-bought clothes sent to the dry cleaners, got them put on hangers, wrapped them in polythene to make them look new, and then bought a place to sell them to the public. Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ...

First million

He made his first million by cleverly buying, turning around and finally selling a failing retailer called "Jean Jeannie". Buying the company for £65,000 plus debt, which he negotiated a goodwill gesture of £100,000 with the main lending bank to freeze repayments with as he tried to turn the business around, he ended up selling for £9 million of which he paid off its debt and walked away with £6 million. These early examples of entrepreneurship and clothes retailing expertise were to foreshadow his later bigger successes.

Amber Day

In 1988, he became Chairman and Chief Executive of a quoted company called "Amber Day", a discount retailer. The shares performed well, but then suffered a series of profit downgrades; in 1992 he was forced to resign by the company's leading institutional shareholders. He has not led a quoted company since. Ever since, he has relied upon a close group of like-minded entrepreneurs, including Tom Hunter (a sports shoe millionaire and one of the richest men in Scotland) and the Barclay brothers, to help fund his buccaneering forays into the UK's High Streets. Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... Sir Thomas Tom Blane Hunter is a Scottish entrepreneur and philanthropist. ... Sir David Barclay and Sir Frederick Barclay (both born on 27 October 1934) are British businessmen. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Main Street. ...

1990s

In the early 1990s Green bought the department store chain Owen Owen which at the time had about 12 branches trading under the Owen Owen and Lewis's brand names. During his ownership most of these department stores were sold to other operators including Debenhams and Allders or were closed leaving only the Liverpool branch trading as Lewis's remaining. In 2004 this remaining store was sold off to David Thompson. For the band, see 1990s (band). ... Owen Owen is an operator of department stores in the United Kingdom. ... Lewiss was a department store group operating in the United Kingdom from 1856 to the 1990s. ... Debenhams plc (LSE: DEB) is a retailer with a chain of department stores based in the United Kingdom. ... Allders in Croydon, the third largest department store in Britain Allders was a chain of department stores in the United Kingdom with its head office in Croydon. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1995 he linked with Tom Hunter to buy sports retailler OLYMPUS, as part of a merger. The price was one British pound, plus the assumption of £30 million in debt. Green and his partners sold the company three years later to JJB Sports for £550 million. Green walked away £73 million richer. That encouraged the Barclay brothers to back him in the £538m acquisition of the Sears retail chain (a different Sears from Sears, Roebuck and Company) in 1999. The subsequent disposal programme (including selling some of the assets, ironically, to Arcadia) raised £729m and confirmed his reputation as a man who could deliver within the retail sector. Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... JJB Sports PLC is one of the United Kingdoms leading sports retailers. ... This article refers to Sears as it existed prior to its merger with Kmart. ... Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ...

BHS, Arcadia, Topshop

Green came to public attention in 1999 when he attempted to make a £7 billion hostile bid for Marks and Spencer. However the leaking of the bid forced up M&S's share price. The board of M&S were also hostile to the bid and sought to block it. Eventually Green gave up and purchased the ailing retail chain BHS for £200 million. His takeover came when everyone else had dismissed the company as a failing brand and unfixable. Green put up £50 million of his own money and borrowed another £150 million to seal the deal. Green completely turned the company around, rebranded it as Bhs, and the chain is now thought to be worth over £1.2 billion. Since he took over, profits have tripled to over £200 million a year. Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ... Marks and Spencer plc (known also as M&S and sometimes colloquially as Marks and Sparks) is the largest retailer in the United Kingdom by sales. ... BHS may refer to Bhs - a British retailer (British Home Stores) Barbershop Harmony Society Butthole Surfers British Horse Society British Hydrological Society Baggage Handling System the ISO 3-letter country code for the Bahamas Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia Black Hand Studios, creator of the Anti-Cheat device Renguard...

Next, Green purchased the Arcadia Group, which owns well-known High Street chains such as Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Miss Selfridge, Outfit, Topshop/Topman and Wallis in 2002. Recently he has added the Etam chain to the group. Green paid £850m, and repaid the £808m he borrowed to finance the deal in two years, a move that stunned commentators when it was announced. The Arcadia Group has been enormously profitable, and currently has pre-tax profits of around £380 million. The Arcadia Group is a British company that owns the high street retailers includes Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, Burton, Evans, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Outfit. ... A branch of Burton on Buchanan Street in Glasgow Burton is a large United Kingdom high street clothing retailer. ... A branch of Dorothy Perkins on Buchanan Street in Glasgow Dorothy Perkins is a large British womens clothing retailer, active mostly in the United Kingdom. ... Evans is a womens clothing retailer located in the United Kingdom. ... Topshop is a chain of clothing stores situated throughout the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and over 30 other countries. ... Topshop is a clothing retailer in the United Kingdom. ... Wallis is one of the many companies under ownership of Philip Green, a British retailing icon. ... The Arcadia Group is a British company that owns the high street retailers includes Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, Burton, Evans, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Outfit. ...

On October 20, 2005 Green awarded Arcadia shareholders a £1.3 billion dividend. He and his wife are joint owners of 92% of the group, and therefore received £1.17bn - the largest payout to an individual in British corporate history. October 20 is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Other activities

Green has pumped more than £6m into education, of which the bulk has gone into The Fashion Retail Academy, a form of specially-funded further education establishment in the United Kingdom, for which he is the major sponsor. It now has 120 students, of which half are graduates. Further education (often abbreviated FE) is post-secondary, post-compulsory education (in addition to that received at secondary school). ...

Green was knighted on 17 June 2006. The dignity of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. ... is the 168th day of the year (169th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

In May 2007 after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal, Green donated £250,000 as a monetary reward for any useful public information.^[1] He also provided the McCanns with the use of his private jet to allow them to fly to Rome for a Papal visit and back in time to put their twins to bed.^[2]Green intends to increase the reward money to £1 million for the safe return of Madeleine. Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Madeleine McCann The disappearance of Madeleine McCann occurred on the evening of Thursday, 3 May 2007 when a then three-year-old British girl, Madeleine McCann, went missing from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Algarve in Portugal, which she was staying in with her parents. ... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Pope (from Latin...

Personal life

A UK resident, Green is based in the week at a London hotel, while his South African wife Christina is a Monaco resident with their children Chloe and Brandon, in a multi-million pound appartment.^[3]

Green plays tennis with Prince Albert of Monaco and counts as his friends Lord Hanson, Tom Hunter, Mohamed al-Fayed of Harrods and Simon Cowell.^[4] Prince Albert (born: 14 March 1958) is the only son and second child of Prince Rainier III of Monaco and his wife, the former American film star Grace Kelly. ... James Edward Hanson, Baron Hanson (January 20, 1922 – November 1, 2004) was a British conservative industrialist who built his businesses through the process of leveraged buyouts. ... Sir Thomas Tom Blane Hunter is a Scottish entrepreneur and philanthropist. ... Wax statue of Mohammad Fayed Mohamed Abdel Moneim Fayed (Arabic: محمد الفايد ) (born January 27, 1929) is an Egyptian businessman. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Simon Cowell (born 7 October 1959) is an English artist and repertoire (A&R) executive for Sony BMG in the United Kingdom, but is known as a judge on the television programs such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, American Idol and Britains Got Talent. ...

Among Green's more extravagent items are a 208ft/£32 million Benetti yacht Lionheart^[5] and a £20 million Gulfstream G550 private jet his wife gave him as a Christmas present.^[6] For his birthday, his wife bought him a solid gold Monopoly set, featuring his very own acquisitions. Benetti is a Italian shipbuilding and Boat building company based in Viareggio and Fano, owned by Azimut Benetti designs and constructs motoryachts, and is one of the leading builders of custom superyachts. ... Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation Gulfstream G550. ... A monopoly (from the Greek language monos, one + polein, to sell) is defined as a persistent market situation where there is only one provider of a product or service, in other words a firm that has no competitors in its industry. ...

Green has been described as "flash". For his son's Bar Mitzvah in 2005, he spent £4 million on a three-day event for over 200 friends and family in the French Riviera. He also hired Andrea Bocelli and Destiny's Child to perform.^[7] For his 50th birthday he flew 200 guests in a chartered Boeing 747 to a hotel in Cyprus for a three-day toga party, where they were serenaded by Tom Jones and Rod Stewart, who was reportedly paid £750,000 for a 45-minute set. For his 55th birthday he flew 100 guests 8,500 miles in two private jets from London Stansted Airport. They arrived at the exclusive Maldives resort of Four Seasons: Landaagiraavaru, an eco-spa on a private Indian Ocean island.^[8] When a Jewish child reaches the age of maturity (12 years and one day for girls, 13 years and one day for boys) that child becomes responsible for him/herself under Jewish law; at this point a boy is said to become Bar Mitzvah (בר מצו&#1493... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Quai des États-Unis in Nice on the French Riviera at night. ... Andrea Bocelli (born 22 September 1958) is an Italian singer, writer, and music producer. ... Destinys Child was a three-time Grammy Award-winning American R&B girl group. ... The Boeing 747, commonly nicknamed the Jumbo Jet, is a long-haul, widebody commercial airliner manufactured by Boeing. ... Sir Thomas Jones Woodward, KBE (born 7 June 1940), known by his stage name as Tom Jones, is a Grammy Award winning Welsh popular music singer particularly noted for his powerful voice. ... Roderick David Stewart, CBE (born January 10, 1945), is a Scottish / English singer born and raised in London. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Criticism

Green's rise to the top of the high street pecking order has not been without controversy. Anti-sweatshop campaign groups, in particular Labour Behind the Label, No Sweat and Tearfund have criticised Green for his use of cheap labour.^{[citation needed]} The tycoon is well known for his ability to turn the screws on his suppliers, as well as for his volatile temper in the face of such accusations.^{[citation needed]} Labour Behind the Label (LBL for short) is a campaign for workers rights in the clothing industry. ... No Sweat is a campaigning organisation based in London, England, which fights for the rights of sweatshop labourers, not only in developing countries but also in Britain - for example in Londons East End, in the borough of Tower Hamlets. ... Tearfund is a UK evangelical Christian relief and development organisation. ...

Despite being a prominent figure in UK retail and business, Philip Green has chosen to avoid paying tax in the country. It is estimated that he and his family saved £300m in 2004-2005 by living partly in Monaco, where residents do not have to pay income tax.^{[citation needed]} Whilst some may see this as the prerogative of a successful and wealthy businessman, others have questioned the morals behind this decision saying it is motivated by greed and is a mean-spirited display of making money from the people of Britain whilst refusing to contribute. It has even been suggested that British Home Stores should be forced to drop the 'British' from their name.

An article in The Observer questioned the amount of the dividend the Greens paid themselves and the accumulated profits available for distribution.^[9] Company law in the UK says that dividends can only be paid out of accumulated realised profits. According to the article, the Greens paid themselves a dividend of £1.14 billion (total dividends were £1,299 million), when the profit & loss statement showed a positive balance of £476 million. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Company law refers to the law of a separate legal entities known as the company and governs the most prevalent legal models for firms, for instance limited companies (Ltd or Pty Ltd), publicly limited companies (plc) or incorporated businesses (Inc. ... An Income Statement, also called a Profit and Loss Statement (P&L), is a financial statement for companies that indicates how net revenue (money received from the sale of products and services before expenses are taken out, also known as the top line) is transformed into net income (the result...

There has also been accusations that Philip Green is an asset-stripper as seen with his experiences with Owen Owen and the purchase of the UK arm of Etam which have seen a wide sell-off of stores. Philip Green denies this accusation. "I'm an operator, not an asset stripper", he snapped. "I don't look to rape the businesses - I'm looking to develop the businesses and trade them."^[10] Asset stripping is the practice of buying a company in order to sell its assets individually at a profit. ... Owen Owen is an operator of department stores in the United Kingdom. ... Etam UK was a British womens clothing retailer formed by the French Etam Developpement. ...

References

External links and references

• Arcadia Group website
• Bhs Homepage (bhs.co.uk)
• Tammy Homepage
• Bhs School website
• Bhs Wedding Collection
• Bhs UK Store Locator
• Seven Card website
• Fashion Retail Academy
• Forbes.com: World's Richest People
• An interview with Philip Green, in which he discusses his whole life
• Labour Behind the Label report on workers' rights in the production of clothes for Philip Green's Arcadia Group
• Billions 'lost to tax avoidance'
• Lionheart" - photo of Green's new yacht