Philip Green plans to destroy jobs and shops in Topshop redesign

Philip Green launches a restructuring of his Topshop empire, trying to cut costs at the largest private fashion retailer in the UK and engaging in a fierce battle against homeowners.

The scandal-stricken billionaire wants to cut jobs, reduce the store portfolio and the leasing and pricing costs of his Arcadia group, whose brands include Topshop, Burton, Wallis and Miss Selfridge.

Arcadia said it was "exploring several options" to deal with "an exceptionally difficult retail market. . . continuous pressures in the UK ". They did not "involve a significant number of layoffs or closures of stores".

A real estate advisor said that there would be an "absolute tumult in the industry" if, as expected, Arcadia was attempting to resort to a voluntary agreement entered into by the company to cut costs.

A CVA allows a company to continue operations while reducing its debt, but this would be controversial because of the size of the store fleet and the considerable personal wealth of Sir Philip and his wife, estimated at over 2 billion pounds sterling.

One of Arcadia's owners said: "As part of a CVA, we need to make sure that the management team has a credible proposal to restore the financial activity of the company. Otherwise, this would be an abuse of the CVA process and unfair to other retailers who are working hard in these difficult times. We would vote against such a CVA. "

Like other fashion retailers, Arcadia has been under pressure from rising rents, labor costs and raw material costs, weaker consumer confidence and the structural transformation of online shopping. In August 2017, the last profit for which accounts are available, the underlying operating profit of Taveta, the group's holding company, decreased by 40% to £ 124 million. However, the group had net cash of 157 million pounds at the time.

The pension regulator is also in talks with the administrators of the Arcadia defined benefit pension plan, the people informed of the discussions said. The plan recorded a £ 300m book deficit in August 2017, although Arcadia is paying £ 50m a year to reduce the deficit.

The regulatory body said that it could not comment on any particular company, but the issue is particularly delicate because of the controversy surrounding the collapse of BHS in 2016, which left its regime of underfunded pension without sponsor. Sir Philip finally paid £ 363 million to the plan, which has since been sold to insurers.

The tycoon's reputation has recently taken a new turn after media coverage of alleged badist and racist bullying, which he vehemently denied, and the use of non-disclosure agreements to keep the allegations secret.