Philip Green asks for taxpayer support to prop up Arcadia
Billionaire asks government to pay 14,500 employees out of emergency wage scheme
The billionaire retailer Philip Green is asking for taxpayer help to prop up his crumbling fashion empire, with 14,500 employees set to be paid out of the government’s emergency wage support scheme.
Like other fashion retailers, Arcadia, which owns brands including Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge, is facing financial turmoil as the lockdown prevents Britons from shopping. The company has already asked landlords for rent cuts and paused payments into its pension scheme.
Arcadia closed its 550 shops a fortnight ago but, with no end to the high street shutdown in sight, said it had been forced to take the drastic step of standing down the majority of its staff. The retailer said 14,500 of its 16,000 employees – a group that includes shop and head office staff – would be furloughed by the weekend, leaving a skeleton team in place. The government’s job retention scheme covers 80% of an employee’s wage, capped at a maximum of £2,500 a month.
Make the bastard sell his yacht 'Lionheart' to pay the bill. He badly needs to go utterly bankrupt. He ruined his companies to build yachts for himself.