// Arcadia to offer landlords 10-20% shares to gain support for restructuring plans
// Sir Philip Green said Arcadia has drawn up a list of stores for closure
Sir Philip Green has said he will offer Arcadia Group shares to landlords in a bid to gain their support for his restructuring plans.
According to The Sunday Times, Green’s advisers are considering giving landlords an interest of up to 20 per cent in his retail empire – which operates Topshop, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis, Evans and Burton.
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Last week, reports emerged that Arcadia Group had drawn up a list of stores it wanted to close down.
Green and Arcadia chief executive Ian Grabiner were reportedly eyeing up a potential CVA to close up to 67 of its 570 shops and cut rents by an average of 30 per cent on the rest.
However, Arcadia continues to face an uphill struggle amid growing criticism of CVAs by property owners.
Green has extracted huge sums from Arcadia since he took it private for £850 million in a highly leveraged deal in 2002, including a £1.2 billion dividend in 2005.
Meanwhile, operating profits dropped by 42 per cent to £124 million on sales of £1.9 billion in the year to August 2017.
This is further worsened by Green’s reputation being damaged after the demise of BHS and sexual harassment allegations.
As well as shares, Arcadia could offer landlords a lump sum worth millions to resemble the total they would receive in an administration.
Grabiner is reportedly set to lead the CVA which is due to be launched in the next few weeks, with advisory support from accountancy firm Deloitte and the property agency GCW.
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