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Sir Philip Green's rescue deal hangs in the balance | Sir Philip Green's rescue deal hangs in the balance |
(32 minutes later) | |
A crucial meeting to rescue Sir Philip Green's Arcadia Group has been adjourned for a week after landlords initially rejected his plan. | |
Landlords of the troubled group's stores, which include Topshop and Miss Selfridge, were due to vote on a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA). | |
The deal would have meant the closure of 48 stores and the loss of around 1000 jobs. | The deal would have meant the closure of 48 stores and the loss of around 1000 jobs. |
The vote was postponed "to conduct further dialogue with a few landlords". | The vote was postponed "to conduct further dialogue with a few landlords". |
Because of the complex structure of Arcadia, creditors had to agree on seven separate CVAs, most of them relating to the company's properties. | |
Some of the seven CVAs are understood by the BBC to have been rejected by landlords. | |
The company says that all seven have to pass for the company to escape administration. | |
Ian Grabiner, chief executive of Arcadia, 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." | |
One creditor, the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), had said it would vote for the scheme after Lady Cristina Green, Sir Philip's wife and Arcadia's largest shareholder, agreed to make a £100m contribution to the pension fund. | |
The CVA proposed the loss of about 520 jobs across 23 Arcadia stores - Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Topshop, Topman, Outfit, Wallis and Evans. | |
Arcadia has more than 560 shops across the UK and Ireland and employs 22,000 staff. | |
However, if the CVA is completed, Arcadia says it will close down two subsidiary property companies, meaning that another 25 stores, most of them branches of Miss Selfridge, will shut. | |
The company estimates around 500 more jobs would be lost, so in total, more than 1,000 jobs would go. | |
What went wrong with Arcadia? | |
Arcadia says it has been paying too much on rent for many of its high-profile stores. Its CVA demanded rent cuts on 194 stores, as well as the 23 closures. | |
The group has already shut 200 of its UK stores over the past three years. | |
Retail analysts say it has been losing out to contemporary "fast-fashion" retailers, ranging from High Street chains, such as Zara and H&M, to pure online players such as Asos. | |
Chloe Collins, senior retail analyst at GlobalData, said: "Most of its brands such as Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge have lost relevance in today's retail landscape due to their uninspiring fashion ranges and weak multichannel offer. | |
"Even Topshop, which used to be Arcadia's star player, has lost appeal." |