Thousands of jobs at risk as Green’s shops empire on the brink of collapse
CONTROVERSIAL tycoon Sir Philip Green’s retail empire is on the brink of collapse, with about 15,000 jobs at risk.
The Arcadia Group, which runs the Topshop, Dorothy
Perkins and Burton brands, is expected to appoint Deloitte as administrators in the coming days.
Executives said the group is “working on a number of contingency options”, after reports its future is in doubt.
An Arcadia spokesman said: “The forced closure of our stores for sustained periods as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic has had a material impact on trading across our businesses. As a result, the Arcadia boards have been working on a number of contingency options to secure the future of the group’s brands.”
The group had been in emergency talks with lenders in an attempt to secure a
£30 million loan to help shore up its finances.
It is the latest retailer to have been hammered by the closure of stores in the face of coronavirus, with rivals including Debenhams, Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group and Oasis Warehouse all sliding into insolvency.
CONTROVERSIAL tycoon Sir Philip Green’s retail empire is on the brink of collapse, with around 15,000 jobs at risk.
The Arcadia Group, which runs the Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Burton brands, is expected to appoint Deloitte as administrators in the coming days.
The company said it is “working on a number of contingency options”, after reports that the group’s future is in doubt.
An Arcadia spokesman said: “We are aware of the recent media speculation surrounding the future of Arcadia.
The forced closure of our stores for sustained periods as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic has had a material impact on trading across our businesses.
“As a result, the Arcadia boards have been working on a number of contingency options to secure the future of the group’s brands.”
The group had been in emergency talks with lenders in an attempt to secure a £30 million loan to help shore up its finances.
It is the latest retailer to have been hammered by the closure of stores in the face of coronavirus, with rivals including Debenhams, Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group and Oasis Warehouse all sliding into insolvency since the pandemic struck in March.
The group has more than 500 retail stores across the UK, with the majority of these currently shut as a result of
Tier 4 restrictions in 11 Scottish council areas and England’s second national lockdown.
Born in south London in 1952 into a wealthy Jewish family that had made its money in petrol stations, Sir Philip’s first big break came in the late 1970s, when he bought the stock of 10 designer outlets and resold it from a shop in Mayfair.
He spent some time as chief executive and chairman of Amber Day in the late 1980s and early 90s but left after the company missed a profit forecast – his last time working for a listed company.
It was not until the early 2000s that Sir Philip emerged into the limelight, when he bought department store BHS in a deal worth £200 million.
He subsequently bought Arcadia, which includes Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Burton, in 2002 through his family-run business Taveta, of which his wife Tina, based in Monaco, is director.
In 2005 Sir Philip paid himself
£1.2 billion in dividends from Arcadia, more than four times the company’s pre-tax profit. The money went to Tina in Monaco, so it was not taxed in the UK.
Around this time Sir Philip came close to a £9bn deal for Marks &
Spencer, but he pulled out before it was completed.
The 2008 global recession would be the start of his empire’s failure, with BHS sold in 2015 to serial bankrupt Dominic Chappell for £1.
Just 11 months later the company finally collapsed and earlier this month Chappell was sentenced to six years in jail for tax evasion during his time running BHS.
The collapse of BHS was when the shine came off Sir Philip. The closure cost 11,000 people their jobs and left a pension deficit of about £571m.
The Pensions Regulator later said Sir Philip’s motive for the £1 sale, one year before BHS’S collapse, was to avoid the pension deficit hanging over the firm.
In 2016, MPS passed a non-binding motion to strip the businessman of his knighthood but, after he agreed to hand over £363m for pensions, the calls died down.