Philip Green seals crucial £25m Arcadia pension deal

SIR PHILIP GREEN last night sealed a crucial deal over pensions to secure the future of his Arcadia retail empire.

The tycoon and his wife Tina, Arcadia’s ultimate owner, have won the backing of the Pensions Regulator after offering a further £25m for the group’s retirement pot. It means regulators will now approve plans to keep the company afloat through a Company Voluntary Arrangement at a crucial meeting today.

The Mail understands that Green has also won the backing of his suppliers.

Ian Grabiner, Arcadia’s chief executive, said: ‘We hope that landlords and other creditors will follow suit and we can get the company back on a strong footing.’

The future of Arcadia, its 570 stores and 18,000 staff is now in the hands of its landlords, who will cast the critical vote on the proposals today in London.

If Arcadia wins their backing, it will be able to push forward with plans to shut 23 stores and get rent reductions on nearly 200 more, slashing overheads and keeping it afloat. But if Green, 67, loses, Arcadia is expected to fall into administration as early as this evening.

Topshop owner Arcadia needs 75pc of creditors to back plans for them to go through.

Green and Arcadia have now committed to plugging the group’s pension scheme with a total of £385m, of which £100m has been pledged personally by Green and his wife.

Arcadia will also contribute an annual payment of £25m over the next three years.

The remaining £210m is being pledged in the form of security over property, which includes the £25m put forward by Green last night. Arcadia did not disclose which property is being used for the latest sum but it is thought to be the firm’s warehouse in Daventry, according to Sky News.

The 11th hour deal will come as a major relief for Green, who has been struggling to strike an agreement amid concerns over his commitment to Arcadia’s pension scheme members. Arcadia’s scheme is thought to have a black hole of around £500m.