Sir Philip Green's retail empire has struck a giant deal with an American private equity company to keep the doors open at his flagship Topshop store.
The tycoon has remortgaged his building on Oxford Street, which houses a 100,000 sq ft Topshop and Topman, as well as a giant Nike store, and offices above the shops, his company Arcadia confirmed.
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US private equity giant Apollo has signed a £310 million deal with Sir Philip to provide much-needed refinancing for the building, ahead of a deadline which was coming by the end of the year.
"The Arcadia Group Ltd is pleased to confirm it has completed the refinancing of its £310 million loan on 214 Oxford Street for 4 years term with Apollo Management International LLP," the company said in a statement.
Pharmacist Boots will start selling Mothercare-branded clothes in the UK as the companies signed an exclusive franchise deal after the babywear brand fell into administration.
Mothercare clothes will start being sold in Boots stores from late summer next year, the companies said, with a limited range available online from mid-2020.
The deal secures the future of the brand in the UK for five years, however it does not save the company's 79 stores which are all slated for closure.
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Mothercare chief executive Mark Newton-Jones said: "In Boots, another much-loved British heritage brand, we believe that Mothercare has found the right home in the UK.
"Boots is at the heart of one of the largest healthcare businesses in the world and Mothercare will fit in as the specialist brand for parents and young children in both Boots stores and online."
He added: "Today's announcement is fantastic news for the brand and the millions of Mothercare customers across the UK.
"It is also great news for Mothercare and our wider group of stakeholders after what has been a tough period. This partnership between Mothercare and Boots UK brings certainty and scale to our continuing group."
Ten-pin bowling company Hollywood Bowl has reported a major increase in profits, smashing through analysts' expectations for the full year to the end of September.
Profit before tax surged by 15.3% to £27.6 million over the period on the back of a 7.8% rise in revenue to £129.9 million.
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Kate Calvert, an analyst at Investec, called the results "another well-executed performance from Hollywood Bowl with a 2.6% beat to consensus underlying 2019 financial year profit before tax".
But the better-than-expected figures were not enough to boost the company's shares.
They remained stable at 235p, unchanged on Thursday's close, even amid a broader jump in the stock market after the General Election and reports of a potential trade deal between China and the US.
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