Philip Green reportedly took delivery of £46m jet before BHS collapse

Retail tycoon Philip Green took delivery of a new £46m jet two months before the BHS chain collapsed putting 11,000 jobs at risk, media reports claimed over the weekend.

The Gulfstream G650ER was believed to have been delivered to the UK in early April, the Sun on Sunday tabloid newspaper reported citing an unnamed source.

BHS was placed into administration in April with a £571m black hole in its pension fund. Up to 11,000 people face losing their jobs and 20,000 people could have their benefits cut by 10%.

“It’s the most luxurious private jet on the planet, the fastest of its kind. Most employees at BHS will struggle to even pay for a budget flight to Spain this summer,” the source was quoted as saying.

“So the idea he’s splashing out on this will be hard to stomach.”

Green's wife Tina, who is the legal owner of the family's empire, is to spend £300,000 re-designing the interior, the report added.

Asked for comment on his new acquisition, Green said: “I don’t want to talk to you, is that clear? Goodbye.” Digital Look requested a comment from Green and was still awaiting a response at the time of publication.

The G650ER boasts speeds of 680mph, just short of the speed of sound. To date only 181 have been made.

A Gulfstream spokesman said: “It is like an office in the sky. You can use your phone, it has four living areas and 100 per cent fresh air which is refreshed every two minutes, so you land feeling rejuvenated.”

Green faces increasing pressure to contribute to the shortfall after a six hour grilling by MPs last week over his decision to sell BHS for £1 to three time bankrupt Dominic Chappell.

There were also further allegations over how much cash Chappell's Retail Acquisition took out of BHS with former financial adviser Michael Hitchcock telling a parliamentary inquiry that almost £17m was removed in wages, fees, charges and inter-company loans.

In a written submission to the Work & pensions and Business select committee joint inquiry, Hitchcock said among the payouts, £2.6m was paid in salaries to members of the RAL consortium and a further £1.4m went to RAL through a management service charge.

He added that £1.4m was paid in fees for property transactions and a further £2.4m for financing transactions while fees taken by “RAL or Dominic Chappell companies from the initial £7m inter-company loan” came to £2.8m.

“RAL invested £10m in BHS through a share subscription, £5m via a RAL loan with Allied Commercial Enterprises and £5m via a RAL receipt from Arcadia. Dominic Chappell did not invest any personal money into BHS,” Hitchcock said in his letter to the committee.