Arcadia: Owner of Topshop, Topman, Burton and Dorothy Perkins it will close 23 shops

Firm blames 'challenging retail headwinds, changing consumer habits and ever-increasing online competition'

Jon Sharman
Thursday 23 May 2019 08:51 BST
Comments
Five employees of Sir Philip Green's Arcadia group signed NDAs
Five employees of Sir Philip Green's Arcadia group signed NDAs

Sir Philip Green‘s retail empire is planning to close 23 shops, putting 520 jobs at risk.

The Arcadia Group said branches of Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Topshop and Topman were among those that would shutter for the last time.

Rent at 194 other locations will also be slashed as part of a rescue plan.

“Against a backdrop of challenging retail headwinds, changing consumer habits and ever-increasing online competition, we have seriously considered all possible strategic options to return the group to a stable financial platform," said Arcadia's chief executive Ian Grabiner. “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.”

It came after Sir Philip, who has faced calls in parliament for him to be stripped of his knighthood, dropped off the Sunday Times list of billionaires.

His businesses were branded "worthless" amid pension struggles.

The decision to remove a knighthood would be taken by the Honours Forfeiture Committee, a Whitehall panel which has stripped honours from former RBS boss Fred Goodwin, and Rolf Harris.

Additional reporting by Press Association

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in