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Sir Philip Green pledges to invest £100m in Arcadia as landlords push for a better CVA deal

Lauretta Roberts
02 May 2019

Sir Philip Green has pledged to invest £100m in his Arcadia fashion empire in a bid to convince the group's creditors, in particular its landlords, to back a CVA deal.

The retail tycoon is reported to have made the promise following a crunch meeting this week to decide whether to press ahead with plans for a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA).

Arcadia has met resistance from landlords, in particular, over plans for a CVA, which would involve store closures and rent reductions.

According to Sky News, landlords including British Land, Hammerson and Aviva are considering appointing advisers to negotiate with the retail group to ensure they get the best possible terms for a CVA.

Sir Philip is already said to have offered a potential equity stake of between 5% and 10% to landlords in exchange for giving the CVA the nod, and had previously pledged £50m in aid for the business.

However Sir Philip is said to have increased the pledge for investment to £100m and landlords are believed to be pushing for a larger equity stake. He has also pledged to offer the freehold of the Oxford Circus flagship Topshop store to the company's pension fund.

In order for the CVA to ahead, some 75% of the company's creditors by value would need to approve it in a vote. If this approval is secured then the CVA may be launched towards the middle of this month though no firm timeframe has been confirmed.

Arcadia employs around 18,000 staff and operates more than 500 stores across its various fascias including Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Outfit, Burton, Miss Selfridge, Evans and Wallis.

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