Arcadia is poised to name the former boss of the De Vere hotel group as its new chair as tycoon Sir Philip Green steps up efforts to transform its fortunes.
Andrew Coppel will assume the chairmanships of Arcadia, its parent company Taveta Investments and Topshop Man Limited, according to Sky News.
Jamie Drummond Smith had been carrying out the role on an interim basis but stepped aside in September.
In addition to his experience at the De Vere group, Coppel also ran the hotel chain Queens Moat Houses and has held board roles at the Jockey Club and with Duncan Bannatyne’s leisure group.
His appointment at Arcadia, which is expected to be confirmed by the business in the coming days, comes as Green grapples to arrest his fashion empire’s ailing performance.
In September, Arcadia reported an eye-watering £170m loss for 2018 as its brands including Topshop, Topman, Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge, Wallis and Evans struggled to build sales amid fierce competition from high street rivals and online players such as Asos and Boohoo.
Arcadia narrowly secured creditor approval for a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) back in June, which will allow the group to shutter stores and slash rents as it bids to radically restructure its cost base.
As a central pillar of his turnaround plans, Green plans to invest in building Arcadia’s online business. Topshop has already started selling some of its products through Asos as a key part of that drive.
Arcadia, which employs around 18,000 people across its high street businesses, declined to comment on Coppel’s pending appointment.
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