Philip Green Says Arcadia Pension Offer Is Good: Financial Times

(Bloomberg) -- Philip Green said the 100 million pounds ($126 million) he promised to inject into Arcadia Group Ltd.’s pension fund as part of a restructuring plan is the “best outcome," the Financial Times reported, citing an interview with the fashion mogul.

Arcadia’s creditors are due to decide on Wednesday whether to accept a restructuring that would close about another 20 stores, cut rents on almost 200 shops and reduce contributions to the U.K. retail group’s pension plan. The U.K. pensions regulator wants Green to contribute a further 50 million pounds to the Arcadia pension fund, Sky reported on Friday.

Arcadia, which includes Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, Burton and Wallis in the U.K. and Ireland, and 11 Topshop outlets in the U.S., is chaired by Green, and his wife Tina Green is its only shareholder. After years of increasing competition from online outlets, Arcadia has initiated a company voluntary arrangement, or CVA -- a U.K. insolvency process that allows retailers to close stores and lower rents. The company will seek creditor approval for the plan on June 5.

Green was charged with four counts of misdemeanor assault in Arizona on Friday. He has declined to comment on the charges, but has previously denied the allegations.

To contact the reporter on this story: Franz Wild in London at fwild@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net, James Amott, Shaji Mathew

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