Arcadia cuts 170 HQ posts in addition to 1,000 shop staff
ARCADIA will shed 170 staff from its head office as Sir Philip Green battles to keep his retail empire going just days after winning the approval of creditors for a rescue deal.
The cuts come on top of 1,000 shop floor staff who will lose their jobs when Arcadia closes nearly 50 stores as part of the restructuring plan.
Under the terms of the plan agreed with landlords and other creditors, known as a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), Arcadia will close stores, while landlords have agreed to significant rent cuts to give the retailer breathing room to turn itself around.
A spokesman for Arcadia said the group would try to find new roles for those whose jobs had been made redundant.
Arcadia employs 2,600 staff at its head office in London and owns brands such as Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Burton and Miss Selfridge.
The CVA agreed on Wednesday meant the retailer avoided administration, saving, 17,000 jobs.
Arcadia has 520 shops across the UK. As part of the restructuring plan, landlords have agreed to cut rents by between 25pc and 50pc on almost 200 stores.
Sir Philip’s wife Tina – Arcadia’s majority shareholder – has also agreed to pay £25m a year into the pension funds for three years, plus an additional £25m. Arcadia is also closing its 11 US Topshop stores and has just one remaining in Australia. According to sources, the business will need just 300 shops in the future.
In an interview with the BBC, Sir Philip promised to get Arcadia back on track. “The marketplace… has fundamentally changed forever. For a long time the company made a lot of money. Literally only in the last couple of years it fell off.”