Arcadia Group creditors approve CVA

Arcadia, which owns brands including Topshop, Miss Selfridge and Wallis, saw its landlords accept significant rent reductions.

Alongside the closures and job losses, the group’s majority shareholder, Lady Green, will invest £50m of equity into the group, in addition to the £50m of funding already provided in March. Lady Green has also agreed to fund the cost of the amended rental reduction terms within the CVA proposals.

Separately, the group has reached an agreement with the trustees of the pension schemes, the Pensions Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund. Under that agreement, Arcadia will reduce its deficit repair contributions from £50m to £25m per year, for three years, with security granted to the value of £210m over certain assets of the group, to further support the schemes.

Lady Green will provide an additional £100m of cash into the schemes to help bridge the shortfall, with funding of £25m per year for the next three years plus an additional £25m contribution.

Ian Grabiner, chief executive of Arcadia, said: "We are extremely grateful to our creditors for supporting these proposals and to Lady Green for her continued support. After many months of engaging with all our key stakeholders, taking on board their feedback, and sharing our turnaround plans, the future of Arcadia, our thousands of colleagues, and our extensive supplier base is now on a much firmer footing.

“From today, with the right structure in place to reduce our cost base and create a stable financial platform for the group, we can execute our business turnaround plan to drive growth through our digital and wholesale channels, while ensuring our store portfolio remains at the heart of our customer offer.

“I am confident about the future of Arcadia and our ability to provide our customers with the very best multi-channel experience, deliver the fashion trends that they demand, and ultimately inspire a renewed loyalty to our brands that will support the long-term growth of our business.