Branches of Topshop, Evans and Dorothy Perkins across the North East could be closed after owner Sir Philip Green revealed he is looking to restructure his Arcadia Group.
The retail tycoon has brought in two restructuring experts to examine how to shake things up at the group, including the possibility of store closures.
Arcadia is made up of a number of brands including Topshop, Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Evans Miss Selfridge, Outfit, and Wallace.
In Newcastle , many of the brands are housed within a large Outfit store located on Northumberland Street, but many smaller branches are present across the region.
Jamie Drummond Smith has been brought in to act as interim chairman of Taveta Investments, the holding company for Sir Philip’s fashion empire.
Mr Drummond Smith was the former restructuring officer of Cattles Plc and has previously acted as chairman of Arcadia Group and Topshop.
He replaces Baroness Karren Brady who resigned earlier this year after allegations of sexual harassment emerged against Sir Philip.
Peter Bloxham, a former head of restructuring and insolvency at Freshfields, has also joined the board of all three companies.
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Mr Drummond Smith said: “Arcadia and Top Shop Top Man have faced unprecedented market conditions on the UK high street.
“We will be supporting the boards as they progress the restructuring options for the businesses to create a stable platform for the group to implement its turnaround plan.”
The news comes a day after it was revealed that Topshop’s US backer Leonard Green & Partners had sold its 25% stake in the business, with two representatives from the private equity firm also resigning their board positions at Arcadia.
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The fashion retail behemoth has hired restructuring advisers at Deloitte and property advisers at GCW to help assess its portfolio.
The group is thought to be preparing to unveil a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), the same mechanism used by New Look, Mothercare and other retailers last year to shut stores and reduce rents.
