Arcadia Group has agreed terms of a GBP25m (US$31.8m) pension scheme with its trustees and The Pensions Regulator (TPR) in a move that lessens the likelihood of the Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, Burton and Dorothy Perkins chains collapsing into administration.
The company, owned by disgraced businessman Sir Philip Green, has now agreed to provide GBP210m of security for the schemes, which includes the additional GBP25m agreed with TPR. The Group said that Green’s wife, Lady Green, will provide a voluntary contribution of GBP75m over three years on top of this, bringing the total to GBP100m.
The trustees of the Arcadia Pension Schemes said the voluntary GBP100m cash support from Lady Green “alongside the £210m in security being provided to the schemes materially enhances the security of the benefits of the 9,500 pension scheme members. The total package of support announced provides the best outcome achievable for the schemes.”
Last month the fashion group instigated a series of Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs), which could result in reduced rents and revised leases at nearly 200 stores. In return, landlords would be handed a 20% stake in the company.
The company also detailed a turnaround plan that would see the closure of 23 of its total 566 UK and Irish locations. It is also restructuring its US operations, with the potential closure of all 11 Topshop Topman stores in America.
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By GlobalData
