The Work & Pensions Committee and the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee requested that Olswang disclose details of the fees it charged for advising Retail Acquisitions in its controversial acquisition of BHS from former owner Sir Phillip Green’s Arcadia Group for just £1 last year. Olswang has already come under fire for its handling of due diligence around the sale after it came to light that Retail Acquisitions owner Dominic Chappell had been declared bankrupt twice prior to the sale. However, on the issue of the firm’s bill to Mr Chappell and his company, Olswang is standing firm: ‘While we wish to be as helpful as possible to the committees… [we] are bound by professional obligations regarding legal professional privilege and client confidentiality, which have not been waived by our clients,’ said a letter from the firm, dated 3 June.

Linklaters and Nabarro disclose

The two other firms close to the sale, Linklaters and Nabarro, have both already disclosed the fees the charged in relation to the deal. Linklaters partner Owen Clay disclosed to the joint committee this week that his firm collected £1.2 million in February from client Arcadia Group in relation to the offloading of BHS. Meanwhile, Nabarro partner Ian Greenstreet also responded to the committee’s call for evidence, disclosing that Nabarro had billed £217,000 for advice provided to Arcadia parent company Taveta Investments in relation to a rescue plan for the BHS pension scheme, plus a smaller amount for advice relating to the sale itself. 

Sources: Legal Business; Law Gazette