Arcadia Group Ltd., the London-based operator of Topshop and Topman stores, will complete liquidation sales in the U.S. this Saturday and plans to vacate all its U.S. stores the following day, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. A lawyer for the group yesterday gave Judge James Garrity Jr. of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York an update on the going-out-of-business sales, which are proceeding amid a dispute between Arcadia and its U.S. landlords. The landlords have asked for the bankruptcy court’s help investigating whether Arcadia removed assets from the U.S. before filing for bankruptcy and whether it continues to possess valuable assets within the U.S. The landlords, which include those currently leasing Arcadia’s flagship U.S. stores in Manhattan, have alleged they are being stonewalled, both in the U.S. and abroad. “They will not tell us how much is there and how much is being generated,” Michael Keats, a lawyer for the landlords, told the judge Wednesday. Arcadia said that it has engaged in discussion with landlords about exchanging information and that all relevant documents already have been produced or made public. A lawyer for the group told Judge Garrity Wednesday that it will continue conversations with the landlords, and that another meeting between Arcadia and the landlords is set for July 8. Read more.
Occupancy issues are at the heart of many significant retail cases, as detailed in the ABI publication Retail and Office Bankruptcy: Landlord/Tenant Rights, available at the ABI Store.
