Arcadia is under the storm

One of Britain’s biggest retailers will be closing 260 shops in UK within the next three years.

The Arcadia empire, which includes brands such as Topshop, Topman, BHS, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Evans and Wallis has seen a near 40 per cent slide in profits as sales have slumped by 4.4 per cent in the past three months.

The owner of Arcadia Sir Philip Green, has announced plan to close 10 per cent of his high street stores, as the market is currently though and trading had worsened since the start of the new financial year.

The retail tycoon would be making the cuts as leases come up for renewal; of the more than 2,500 shops the billionaire owns worldwide, most of them in the UK, the leases on about 450 expire in the next three years. At least 260 branches will shut in the UK and it is still unclear how many job cuts will follow from the store closures.

Sir Philip also said the firm's young fashion brands Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge were trading positively. His daughter Chloe has announced that she is currently designing shoes for Topshop, trying to get the collection ready for her launch next year.

However, with UK living standards falling at their fastest rate for years and many companies gone into liquidation, other chains could retreat soon.