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Dominic Chappell, the former bankrupt who bought BHS for £1 in 2015 and was at the helm when it collapsed a year later, said he had not seen a court summons because he was “offshore on a boat for most of August”.
The businessman requested an adjournment of his case at Brighton Magistrates Court on Wednesday because he did not have internet access when the Pensions Regulator demanded he hand over documents relating to BHS’ demise.
The regulator is investigating the sale of BHS by Sir Philip Green to Mr Chappell’s Retail Acquisitions.
The retailer was put into administration in 2016, leaving 11,000 employees jobless and a £571m pension black hole, affecting 19,000 pension holders.
Mr Chappell is accused of not complying with requests for information from the regulator on three occasions, two in 2016 and a third earlier this year.
The 50-year-old said his lawyer was out of the country due to family business. The first time the former racing driver said he had heard about the summons was on 21 August.
When quizzed by district judge William Ashworth on Wednesday as to why this was the case he replied: ““Because I was away, I did not have internet access when I was away.
“I was offshore, on a boat. I was away and I’ve had a very busy schedule.”
He added: “I actually have not seen any of the formal documentation.”
Mr Ashworth said normal procedure was for the court to take a plea, to which Mr Chappell said: “If I'm pushed I will enter a plea of not guilty.
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“I'm not doing it, I'm not able to do it, my lawyers advised me not to do it.
“I cannot do it.”
The judge said he would adjourn the case until later on Wednesday to give Chappell time to read the evidence.
The Press Association contributed to this report
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