Retail company Arcadia goes into administration - these are the high street chains in jeopardy

Retail company Arcadia has entered into administration, with 13,000 retail jobs now at risk.

Arcadia, which includes the likes of Topshop, Miss Selfridge and Dorothy Perkins, has 444 stores in the UK and 22 overseas, alongside operating online.

Collapses into administration

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It first emerged on Friday (27 Nov) that Arcadia’s talks with potential lenders for a loan of £30 million had failed, with the firm then teetering on the edge of administration.

Sir Philip Green’s firm said it needed extra money due to the coronavirus pandemic having had a “material impact on trading.”

The company then entered into administration on Monday evening (30 Nov), after it rejected a £50m loan offer from Mike Ashley's Frasers Group.

Administration is a legal process that protects a limited company or partnership by order of the Court.

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Once the process has started, no legal action can then be taken against the business or any assets removed without the approval of the Court or that of the insolvency practitioner who has been appointed as Administrator to oversee the business.

Arcadia was also in trouble back in 2019, when it avoided collapse after creditors backed a rescue plan involving the closure of 50 stores and 1,000 job losses.

Which high street chains does Arcadia own?

Arcadia owns the following fashion retail brands:

BurtonDorothy PerkinsEvansMiss SelfridgeOutfitTopmanTopshopWallis

'The obstacles we encountered were far too severe'

Mr Grabiner, the Arcadia chief executive, said: "This is an incredibly sad day for all of our colleagues as well as our suppliers and our many other stakeholders.

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"The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic including the forced closure of our stores for prolonged periods has severely impacted on trading across all of our brands.

"Throughout this immensely challenging time, our priority has been to protect jobs and preserve the financial stability of the group in the hope that we could ride out the pandemic and come out fighting on the other side.

"Ultimately, however, in the face of the most difficult trading conditions we have ever experienced, the obstacles we encountered were far too severe."

Addressing Arcadia's collapse into administration, Matt Smith, joint administrator at Deloitte, said: "Arcadia sits at the heart of the high street, and has been striving to combat the impact of COVID-19 throughout this year.

"Now the effect of the lockdowns, combined with broader challenges facing bricks and mortar retailers, have resulted in a critical funding requirement for the group and today's administration."