Green reportedly eyes Arcadia sale; MPs warn on pension deficit

Retailer Sir Philip Green is reportedly in talks on a full or partial sale of his Arcadia empire to Chinese interests, UK media reported on Monday, sparking concerns about how pensioners would be protected if a deal was agreed.

Jining-based Shandong Ruyi has held discussions and looked over the books of Arcadia, which owns the Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Evans brands, the Sunday Times reported.

Green was said to be looking for an exit as the ageing stable faces real competition from online stores such as Boohoo and its Nasty Gal unit.

The speculation has caught the eye of Green's nemesis, Labour MP Frank Field, who chairs parliament's all-party Work and Pensions select committee.

Field wasted no time in announcing that he would be seeking assurances that pensioners in Arcadia's scheme would be protected given it has a £565m deficit and likely to be a deal breaker in any sale.

“Our focus is on the commitment to pay down that pension deficit, and what will actually be the commitment of the new owners to the pensions,” Field told the Press Association.

“The committee will be writing officially and we will get a reply, I’m sure. (Sir Philip) has always complied in the past and I’m sure he will comply as a law-abiding citizen.”

Field said the committee was forced to take action because the Pensions Regulator did not have the powers to take firms to task.

“These sorts of jobs ought to be done by the Pensions Regulator. They ought to be looking at firms with difficult pension positions when there is a sale going on to make sure the views of the pensioners, both now and in future, are being taken into account.”

The Work and Pensions committee released documents from the Arcadia Schemes’ trustees in April last year showing a £565m deficit at the time of the March 31 2016 valuation.

As part of a recovery plan, Green has agreed to pay £50m a year until August 2019 and £54.5m from then until March 2026, in contrast to £24.3m a year previously.

Green will know all eyes are on him after the collapse of BHS in 2016, a year after he sold the department store for £1 to the former bankrupt Dominic Chappell.

The company's pension fund had a £571m deficit, leaving 20,000 pensioners high and dry until pressure from a parliamentary inquiry jointly-led by Field and The Pensions Regulator forced Green into paying £363m to top up the BHS pot.