Arcadia CVA vote dramatically delayed for another week

The crunch vote to decide the future of the Arcadia group has been delayed for a week at the 11th hour to enable further talks with landlords.

Reports suggested that some big landlords had been preparing to veto the CVA, including Intu, Aviva, M&G. The delay suggests the CVA proposal was set to fail, despite the group securing the vital support of The Pensions Regulator, after Sir Philip Green agreed to invest a further £25m into the group's pension scheme.

In a statment Arcadia CEO Ian Grabiner said: "It is in the interests of all stakeholders that we adjourn today's meetings to continue our discussions with landlords. We believe that with this adjournment there is a reasonable prospect of reaching an agreement that the majority of landlords will support."

Reports throughout the afternoon suggest that Grabiner and Green had been ringing landlords desperately trying to encourage them to vote in favour of the seven CVAs that form part of the wider restructure, thus securing the future of the group's 18,000 employees.

Under the terms promised by the group, landlords would receive a 20% stake in the business which would be realised in the event of a sale of the group. Around 50 stores were set for closure with rent cuts requested on a further 200.

The new meeting has been set for Wednesday 12 June.