Philip Green's Arcadia 'on brink of collapse'

Arcadia's collapse is likely to trigger a swift response from competitors looking to snap up the group's assets, which include large stores on Oxford Street in London as well as a well developed online operation.

British retail tycoon Philip Green's Arcadia fashion group said on Friday it was working on a number of "contingency options" to secure the future of its brands after a Sky News report said it faced going into administration within days.

Arcadia owns the Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis, Miss Selfridge, Evans and Burton brands, trading from over 500 stores up and down the country.

The company's collapse would put as many as 15,000 jobs at risk.

In what could be the biggest British corporate collapse of the global crisis so far, Sky said Arcadia was preparing to appoint administrators from Deloitte as soon as Monday.

"The brands continue to trade and our stores will be opening again in England and ROI (Republic of Ireland) as soon as the government COVID-19 restrictions are lifted next week".

The retail group had been in emergency talks with lenders in a bid to secure a £30 million loan to help shore up its finances.

In its statement, the group said that the forced "closure of our stores for sustained periods as a result of the coronavirus pandemic has had a material impact on trading across our businesses".

The company's pension scheme is likely to have the biggest claim, having already received a package of assets worth over £400mln under the terms of a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) secured a year ago, although this could be in doubt if Arcadia does enter administration.