Arcadia collapses into administration, putting 13,000 jobs at risk (GB)

Arcadia collapses into administration, putting 13,000 jobs at risk (GB)

The British High Street giant and the owner of Topshop, Burton and Dorothy Perkins, Arcadia Group has gone into administration, putting 13,000 jobs at risk. The announcement follows recent budget cuts that would affect 500 management jobs worldwide. The company now joins the ranks of other UK retailers severely affected by an on-going COVID-19 pandemic. Matt Smith and Dan Butters, together with other restructuring partners at Deloitte, have today been appointed as joint administrators. No immediate redundancies have been announced. It has been announced that the company will continue trading and all online orders made over the Black Friday weekend would be completed regardless of the latest announcement. The group currently operates from 444 leased sites in the UK and 22 abroad. 

 

“This is an incredibly sad day for all of our colleagues as well as our suppliers and our many other stakeholders," said Ian Grabiner, CEO of Arcadia. “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.”

 

Matt Smith, joint administrator at Deloitte, said: “We will be rapidly seeking expressions of interest and expect to identify one or more buyers to ensure the future success of the businesses.”

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