WEDNESDAY 12 JUNE

  • 13.15: Voting now open. Results will be communicated later via Arcadia announcement. Some creditors leaving the meeting already. One landlord says “Green must be confident he has the votes” if he’s allowing the vote in the first place.

  • 11.37: If evidence were needed that no one seems to know which way today’s vote will go we have just heard from one major Arcadia landlord that they have drafted two statements – one for if the rescue deal passes and one for if it doesn’t.

  • 10.17: Some views from Chris Field, independent retail analyst and chairman of Retail Connections: ”I think they’ll reject Philip Green’s current rescue deal.”

  • 07.08: Arcadia says it “continues to have a constructive dialogue with landlords” as it seeks support for restructuring plan.

  • 07.00: Landsec holds Arcadia’s survival in its hands for the second week in a row. Even if the commercial property giant abstains, that is expected to be enough to give Sir Philip Green victory.

 

WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR:

  • Intu voting against rescue deals. Aviva, British Land and Hammerson voting in favour.

  • Landsec’s position remains unknown, but its vote is now crucial to Arcadia’s survival.

  • Arcadia tells landlords if one CVA fails, then they all fail.

  • Meeting set to take place at midday today at 200 Aldersgate, near St Paul’s in central London.

 

TUESDAY 11 JUNE

  • 18.35: Change of venue for creditors’ meeting tomorrow. Starts at midday at Etc Venues, 200 Aldersgate, near St Paul’s in central London. Last week’s meeting was at County Hall.

  • 18.28: Aviva Investors understood to be backing Philip Green’s rescue deal tomorrow. However, Landsec’s position remains unknown. If it votes against CVAs alongside Intu then it’s unlikely Arcadia will survive the week.

  • 16.20: As it did last week, the survival of Arcadia depends on how Landsec votes tomorrow - if vote goes ahead. If Arcadia is serious about its “one CVA falls, then all fall” stance, then it only needs Landsec to vote with Intu on one CVA and the group could collapse into administration as early as Thursday.

  • 15.41: “There are no current plans to delay” tomorrow’s creditors’ meeting, says Arcadia source.

  • 14.02: One big four Arcadia landlord says: “They [Arcadia] are proposing all this while keeping exactly the same management that got them into this mess. It’s no wonder people are finding it hard to make such a big decision on whether to support the CVAs or not.”

  • 13.49: Source close to Aberdeen Standard, which is the landlord on around 20 Arcadia stores, says it is still considering how to vote after CVA concessions from the retail group last Friday. Group was a NO vote last week.

  • 13.20: Two leading Arcadia landlords reveal they were told by Arcadia that financial structure of the group means that if even one of the seven CVAs fails to gain 75% of votes cast, then all fail and the company will be put into administration as early as Thursday morning.

  • 12.37: British Land, which has properties in just four of the CVAs, is currently abstaining on one with which it has a joint venture partner, and voting in favour of three where it is the sole landlord. Arcadia is encouraging abstentions as each CVA is passed based on 75% of votes cast, so abstentions can help Arcadia’s cause.

  • 12.21: Landsec refuses to comment on its position on tomorrow’s vote.

  • 11.08: No word yet from no voters from last week, Aviva and Aberdeen Standard. M&G was also against some of the CVAs. British Land and Hammerson expected to stick to their YES votes.

  • 10.20: Arcadia source says future of 18,000 jobs in landlords’ hands. Intu responds by saying it is responsible for 130,000 jobs.

  • 10:08: Arcadia collapse edges closer as Intu source confirms no vote. Group controls 15% of the vote and Sir Philip needs 75% of votes to pass CVAs

Intu will “take its chances with administration” as 70% of it 35 Arcadia stores are profitable Topshop branches.

WEDNESDAY 12 JUNE

10.17: Some views from  Chris Field, independent retail analyst and chairman of Retail Connections:

“I think they’ll reject Philip Green’s current rescue deal and there will be more discussions, but at some point, the landlords and shareholders are going to have to accept some kind of a deal.  The UK retail environment is still a difficult one and, inevitably, there will be some casualties as the High Street reinvents itself.  

”While the deal remains on a knife edge - and I do foresee the investors turning the knife on the deal - the outcome of Sir Philip’s retail empire is by no means certain.  

“Things never are as dire as the business owners like to say, and Sir Philip is no fool; this is a a man who won Retailer of the Year just a few years ago and, ultimately, money comes first - this could well be the catalyst for reinvention, rather than the ultimate road to ruin for Arcadia.”

 

07.08: Arcadia says it “continues to have a constructive dialogue with landlords” as it seeks support for restructuring plan.

Landsec holds Arcadia’s survival in its hands for the second week in a row. Even if the commercial property giant abstains, that is expected to be enough to give Sir Philip Green victory.

WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR:

  • Intu voting against rescue deals. Aviva, British Land and Hammerson voting in favour.

  • Landsec’s position remains unknown, but its vote is now crucial to Arcadia’s survival.

  • Arcadia tells landlords if one CVA fails, then they all fail.

  • Meeting set to take place at midday today at 200 Aldersgate, near St Paul’s in central London

 

TUESDAY 11 JUNE

13.49:  Aberdeen Standard still considering its vote

A source close to Aberdeen Standard, which is the landlord on around 20 Arcadia stores, says the group is still considering how it will vote in tomorrow’s creditors’ meeting.

Last week the group decided to vote against the proposals, but is now deciding whether or not to change its position following the concessions from Arcadia on rent reductions and break clauses last Friday.

 

13.20: Arcadia tells landlords failure to vote even one CVA through means they all fail

Arcadia has told creditors that if one of its seven company voluntary arrangements (CVA) fails to gain approval then all fail, and the retail giant will collapse into administration as early as Thursday morning.

Source: Shutterstock/Natalia Mikhaylova

Philip Green could put Arcadia into administration if creditors’ fail to vote for any of the seven rescue deals

Two leading landlords have told Property Week they have been informed by Arcadia executives that the group’s financial structure means all seven brands are inextricably linked to each other, and if one CVA fails to gain 75% of the votes, then every company will be forced into administration.

One of the leading landlords said: “That’s my understanding. We were told by Arcadia that its financial structure means that if one CVA falls, then they all fall.”

The other major Arcadia landlord added: “I’m not sure if the situation has changed, but that was the position made clear to us last week. That’s why the vote was postponed as not every CVA was going to get voted through last Wednesday.”

It is also understood that only the votes cast at tomorrow’s repeat creditors’ meeting count in the final tally. Therefore, Arcadia does not require 75% approval of all creditors for each CVA if some opt to abstain. Another landlord added that Arcadia was actively encouraging some creditors to abstain, rather than vote against, so it could dilute the voting pool and make it easier to pass the 75% threshold.

 

12.37: British Land, which has properties in just four of the CVAs, is currently abstaining on one and voting in favour of three

It is understood that while British Land, which has a vote on four of the CVAs, was slated to be voting in favour of Arcadia’s proposals it is, in fact, currently intending to abstain on one where it is the joint landlord, while voting in favour of three others where it is the sole landlord.

Meanwhile, Landsec, which has 13 Arcadia stores in its shopping centres, is keeping up its silence on its voting intentions at tomorrow afternoon’s meeting at County Hall in central London.

As this publication revealed last week, Arcadia’s advisor Deloitte has prepared papers to put the entire group into administration within 24 hours of tomorrow’s vote should Philip Green give it the authority to do so.

 

10.08: Arcadia collapse edges closer as Intu source confirms no vote

Intu boss Matthew Roberts believes rent reductions for Arcadia would be unfair on full-paying tenants

Intu’s position keeps the future of Green’s empire in the balance, with Arcadia now relying on other landlords including Landsec, M&G, Aviva and Aberdeen Standard to come over to his side to save the group from collapse and secure the future of its 18,000 staff.

The Intu source added: “Of Intu’s 35 Arcadia stores, 70% are Topshop, and the company is confident this brand would endure through an administration and would attract interest from a number of buyers.”

An Arcadia source close to Green attempted to take the moral high ground claiming the retail tycoon was doing all he could to save the jobs of Arcadia’s 18,000 jobs and that landlords voting against the CVAs would effectively be putting those people out of work.

“It’s down to the landlords now,” said the source. “We’ve done everything to save those 18,000 jobs. If they vote this down the landlords will be the ones putting those 18,000 people on the dole.”

However, the source at Intu fought back against such accusations saying it had the interests of far more workers at heart.

“Intu is responsible for the jobs of 100,000 people who work for its tenants, plus a further 30,000 associated jobs,” said the source. “We have to act in the interest of those 130,000 jobs, not just the 18,000 Arcadia jobs.”

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