The British fashion empire Arcadia, which owns Topshop stores in particular, announced on Friday that it was evaluating several “
relief options
” to save its brands after press reports suggesting an imminent bankruptcy attributed to the pandemic.
Read also: Topshop boss Philip Green at the heart of a #MeToo scandal
A bankruptcy of the group, which has 15,000 employees and more than 500 stores, would be a thunderclap in British trade hit hard by the health crisis and the rise in online shopping.
Among its brands are well-known names in clothing like Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Burton.
Arcadia "is
working on fallback options to secure the future of the group's brands
," according to a statement from the company owned by controversial businessman Philip Green.
Arcadia was forced to react after reports from Sky News revealing that the group was on the verge of filing for bankruptcy after failing to come to an agreement with its creditors to secure a £ 30million loan.
He could even be placed under the British bankruptcy regime on Monday, according to the news channel.
But it would be the equivalent of a bankruptcy filing, under the aegis of the Deloitte firm, and not a liquidation.
Read also: Beyoncé breaks up with Topshop after the controversy targeting her boss
This would allow the group to be able to sell its various brands.
Sky News says online store Boohoo may be a contender for Topshop takeover.
Arcadia explains in its press release that the forced closure of its stores for a long time due to the pandemic had a "
significant
"
impact
on its activity.
The group said, however, that its stores will reopen in England once government restrictions are lifted next week after the November lockdown.
Arcadia's difficulties are added to the long list of brands in peril or which have gone bankrupt since the start of the health crisis and which very often already suffered from a drop in attendance and competition from online sales.
Department stores Debenhams cut thousands of jobs and filed for bankruptcy in April.
They are now in discussions to be taken over by the sports article channel JD Sports.
British clothing chains Peacocks and Jaeger, which belong to billionaire Philip Day's EWM group, filed for bankruptcy last week, threatening around 4,700 jobs.
