Most Arcadia stores lie empty a year after empire’s collapse
Press Association
THE vast majority of stores from Sir Philip Green’s former Arcadia empire remain empty a year after the retailer’s dramatic collapse.
Around 86 per cent of shop sites run by the group – which included Topshop, Topman, Burton and Dorothy Perkins stores – are still vacant, according to data from the Local Data Company.
Arcadia tumbled into administration at the end of November last year, in a move which spelled the end for its 444 UK stores and 22 overseas locations.
The firm’s brands were acquired in two separate deals, by online retail giants Asos and Boohoo, but no stores were saved as part of the move.
Data has revealed that 13 per cent have been reoccupied and 1 per cent have undergone structural change, such as a demolition of the site.
It also revealed that landlords in the North East have particularly struggled to find new occupants for the stores amid a differing picture regionally. All former Arcadia sites in North East remain empty, while 97 per cent in the South West are also still vacant.
However, properties in Wales and the South East have seen better occupancy rates, with 24% and 21% of these finding new occupiers over the past year. The former home of Topshop’s flagship on Oxford Circus is set to became an Ikea showroom after the Swedish furniture giant purchased the building for £378m.
Read more: End of an era: Liquidators appointed to wind up Philip Green’s Arcadia empire