Arcadia set to shutter 23 stores

A total of 23 stores owned by Sir Philip Green’ s Arcadia Group are to close, putting 520 jobs at risk.

The company’ s Dorothy Perkins and Burton branches in Aberdeen and Burton and Topman stores in Glasgow are among those set to shut, along with Dorothy Perkins and Burton in Stirling as par t of a restructuring plan at the beleaguered retailer. Arcadia is also to try to cut rents at 194 further sites in a bid to tackle the “highly competitive retail environment”.

Green is to inject £100 million of his own money into the business over the next three years, while Arcadia is to halve its annual payments to the company’s pension scheme.

All of the retailer’s 11 Topman and Topshop stores in the US are also set to close.

Arcadia hopes to undertake a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), which ringfences the firm in a legally binding agreement with its creditors to allow a proportion of debt to be paid back over time. The deal will be put to creditors at a meeting next month.

Last month, Green appointed two restructuring specialists onto the board of the firm. Arcadia chief executive Ian Grabiner said: “Against a back drop of challenging retail headwinds, changing consumer habits and everincreasing online comp eti - tion, we have seriously considered all possible strategic options to return the group to a stable financial platform. This has been a tough but necessary decision for the business.

“We will ensure all potentially affected colleagues are kept fully informed as we seek approval from our creditors on today’s CVA proposals.”

As part of the plan, Lady Green, wife of Sir Philip and ultimate owner of Arcadia, has offered landlords a 20 per cent stake of any proceeds if the group is eventually sold. She will also inject another £50m of equity into the business.

Sir Philip’s BHS chain col -