The fashion group, which owns brands such as Topshop, Miss Selfridge and Burton, has approached banks and hedge funds about borrowing some £50m against its new distribution centre in Daventry, Northamptonshire, according to Sky News.

The funding would go towards seeing the group through the ongoing coronavirus crisis, which has seen it forced to close all 550 of its stores.

The centre in Daventry only opened last year and is a key part of Topshop’s logistics operations.