Topshop and Dorothy Perkins owner Arcadia Group enters administration
20:11, 30 November 2020
updated: 20:37, 30 November 2020
Sir Philip Green's retail empire Arcadia has entered administration with about 13,000 jobs at risk.
The company's collapse marks one of the biggest retail casualties of the coronavirus pandemic.
Topshop is one of the firm's brands - which has stores in Canterbury, Greenhithe, Broadstairs, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells.
Arcadia Group also runs other stores based across the county, including Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Evans and Wallis.
It was reported how plans for an emergency multimillion-pound loan to Arcadia Group had reportedly fallen through.
Senior sources at the company told the BBC they did not expect a last-minute rescue deal, which had been flagged by Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group.
Deloitte is expected to be appointed as administrators in the coming days.
The offer from Frasers Group - which runs Sports Direct and House of Fraser - amounts to a £50 million loan, Mr Ashley’s company confirmed.
A spokesperson for Frasers Group said: “The company can confirm that it has made an offer and provided draft terms to the Arcadia Group for a loan of up to £50 million and is now awaiting a substantive response.
“Should the company and the Arcadia Group’s efforts to agree an emergency funding package fail and the Arcadia Group enter into administration, the company would be interested in participating in any sale process.”
Arcadia had been in emergency talks with lenders in a bid to secure a £30 million loan to help shore up its finances.
News of the insolvency is expected to trigger a scramble among creditors to get control of company assets.
The group has more than 500 retail stores across the UK with the majority of these currently shut as a result of England’s second national lockdown, which will end next week.
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