Philip Green races to repay £300m loan before Christmas

Arcadia is in talks with specialist lenders, among them an American private equity firm called Apollo, about refinancing the £310m mortgage on its Oxford Street store which is due for repayment before the end of the year, according to The Sunday Times.

The mortgage was taken out from a group of banks in 2014 and had been due to expire last June but was extended as part of Arcadia’s company voluntary arrangement, which saw the group close stores and cut rents.

The Sunday Times reported that a specialist lender would demand higher rates than a high street bank and that any discussions are complicated by Green having given The Pensions Regulator a charge over the building as part of its deal.

Arcadia reported a full-year loss of over £170m in September, and sales fell by 16.3% in the 12 weeks to September 22.

In late October, Arcadia opened a new warehouse dedicated to Topshop and Topman products as Green ramped up efforts to separate the chains from the struggling wider fashion group – which includes other brands such as Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge, Evans and Wallis.

Arcadia boss Ian Grabiner also began work untangling Topshop and Topman functions from the wider group in a move that has raised speculation that the other businesses could be sold off.

However, Arcadia sources have denied that the warehouse has been built to help facilitate a break-up of Green’s group.