Next is frontrunner to rescue Topshop ahead of bid deadline tomorrow
Next is seen as the frontrunner to buy Sir Philip Green’s Topshop empire out of administration.
Earlier this month Next confirmed it is part of a consortium bidding for Arcadia brands, but said it was not seeking majority ownership of Sir Philip Green’s collapsed business empire.
According to the Sunday Times Next faces competition from Authentic Brands, the US owner of Barneys department store, and from Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group.
Final bids for Arcadia are due in tomorrow and expected to be well in excess of £200m, the Sunday Times reported. The administration process is being carried out by Deloitte.
Arcadia, which owns brands Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, Burtons, Dorothy Perkins, Evans and Wallis, fell into administration in November, putting 13,000 jobs at risk.
The retail giant, owned by Sir Philip Green, became the biggest casualty of the coronavirus pandemic, after restrictions piled pressure on Arcadia, which was reliant on its physical stores.
City Chic Collective, an Australian retail company, has already bought Evans.