* Sky News says Arcadia days away from administration
* Arcadia working on options to secure future of brands
* Retailer employs about 15,000
* Collapse would be UK's biggest of pandemic so far
(Adds details)
By James Davey
LONDON, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Retail magnate Philip Green's
Arcadia, which owns Topshop and many other British fashion
brands, said it was working on a number of options to secure its
future after the COVID-19 pandemic hammered its business.
Sky News earlier reported on Friday the group risked going
into administration within days, threatening 15,000 jobs.
"The forced closure of our stores for sustained periods as a
result of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a material impact on
trading across our businesses," the company said in a statement.
"As a result, the Arcadia boards have been working on a
number of contingency options to secure the future of the
group’s brands."
In what could be Britain's biggest corporate collapse of the
pandemic so far, Sky said Arcadia was preparing to appoint
administrators from Deloitte as soon as Monday to handle the
process.
Arcadia, which Green purchased for 850 million pounds in
2002, is a major force on the British high street. In addition
to Topshop, it owns Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis, Miss
Selfridge, Evans and Burton brands, trading from over 500
stores.
Arcadia said its brands continued to trade and its stores
would reopen next week when the government's latest pandemic
restrictions ease.
The company declined to comment beyond its statement.
Deloitte was not immediately available to comment.
STRUCTURAL CHALLENGE
Even before the pandemic, bricks and mortar clothing retail
in Britain was facing a major structural challenge with the
economics of operating stores on traditional leases proving
increasingly difficult as more trade migrates online.
Already this year Debenhams, Oasis, Warehouse, Laura Ashley,
Peacocks and Jaeger have fallen into administration.
Arcadia's demise would likely bring down the curtain on the
68-year old Green's extraordinary career.
He was once known as the "king of the high street" and twice
tried and failed to buy Marks & Spencer.
In 2005 Arcadia famously took on more debt and paid Green's
wife Tina, Arcadia's registered owner, a 1.2 billion pound
dividend.
But Green's star has dramatically waned in recent years.
His reputation was badly damaged by the collapse of
department store chain BHS in 2016 and its aftermath. Green had
sold BHS to a collection of little-known investors for a nominal
sum of a pound the previous year.
Then in 2018, Green was named in Britain's parliament as
having taken legal action to try to prevent publication of
allegations of sexual harassment against him. He has denied the
allegations.
($1 = 0.7500 pounds)
(Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton/Guy
Faulconbridge and Carmel Crimmins)
Marks & Spencer (MKS)