Topshop owner Arcadia 'faces collapse within days' and fans are devastated

Topshop owner Arcadia Group is said to be just days away from permanently closing its doors, putting 15,000 jobs at risk.

The retail empire of Sir Philip Green is understood to be calling in administrators from Deloitte on Monday, according to Sky News, after an emergency £30million loan to see the business through Christmas was rejected by lenders.

In a statement on Friday, the company said it is working on "contingency options to secure the future of the group’s brands".

But if the insolvency is confirmed, then it could see a number of stores facing permanent closure and a bidding war for the business begin.

Online-only fashion brand Boohoo is one likely potential bidder after they recently acquired the Oasis and Warehouse brands, which have also lost their stores to become online-only fashion labels – something that could be an option for Topshop.

Upon hearing the news, loyal fans were devastated and flooded social media to share their disappointment. 

"For real, Topshop is my favourite place to shop and it closing is my personal *first world problems* 2020 nightmare," expressed one loyal shopper.

"So sad to hear about @Topshop going down. My favourite brand when I was a teen," wrote another.

"I would miss Topshop. It makes up over 50% of my wardrobe :(," said a third. A fourth added: "I’ll be very upset if Topshop closes."

As well as Topshop, Arcadia also owns Topman, Miss Selfridge, Evans, Burton and Dorothy Perkins.

During the first country-wide lockdown, Arcadia furloughed the vast majority of its 15,000-strong workforce across more than 500 outlets, admitting coronavirus had had "a material impact on trading across our businesses".

"As a result, the Arcadia boards have been working on a number of contingency options to secure the future of the group's brands," it recently said.

It later axed 500 head office roles after admitting sales had taken a significant hit on the back of closures.