Bosses at online retail giant Boohoo have said they are in exclusive talks to buy some of the remnants of Sir Philip Green’s high street empire.
The Manchester company said it is negotiating with administrators of Arcadia over the future of the Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton brands.
A deal could see Boohoo buy the three, excluding the HIIT brand sold at Burton, although the board stressed that so far these are only discussions and that no deal is guaranteed.
If successful, the deal would cap off a week of deals showing the dominance over their brick-and-mortar rivals.
But with the online retailers buying only the brands of struggling retailers and not their shops, there are sure to be thousands of job losses.
In a short statement to investors in London on Friday morning, Boohoo said: “Boohoo Group plc, a leading online fashion group, notes recent media commentary.
“The group confirms that it is in exclusive discussions with the administrators of Arcadia over the acquisition of the Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton (excluding HIIT) brands.
“These discussions may or may not result in agreement of a transaction. A further announcement will be made when appropriate.”
The news caps off a week of online businesses snapping up their older high street rivals.
On Monday, Boohoo said that it has agreed a £55m deal to buy the brand and website of Debenhams, but will not take over the company’s high street shops, which look set to close.
At the same time, Asos, another online fashion retailer, said it is in exclusive talks to buy other parts of Arcadia. Asos is interested in the Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT brands.
The carve-up of Debenhams and Arcadia between Boohoo and Asos could see 1,389,137 square metres of retail space, the equivalent of 194 Premier League football pitches, coming vacant and available to let according to the real estate adviser, Altus Group.
Arcadia employed around 13,000 people and ran 444 stores across the UK before it entered administration at the beginning of December.
The Covid-19 pandemic and years of under-investment, as well as competition from online brands, ate into the business.
