Ikea to open flagship Oxford Street store at site of shuttered Topshop

Ikea is to buy the flagship Oxford Circus retail store occupied by Topshop in a £385m deal subsequent the collapse of Sir Philip Green’s retail empire.

It will give the Swedish furniture chain a presence at the heart of London’s buying district amid booming demand from customers for its items considering that lockdown was lifted.

Topshop fell into administration previous November after several years of declining profits. The model was subsequently bought by Asos, which introduced plans to dispose of all physical stores.  

The deal is not the first time the Swedish furniture chain has attempted to move to Oxford Circus. Ikea earlier sought to just take more than British Residence Stores’ area on Oxford Road, and had also enquired about a web-site at a nearby  redevelopment on Cavendish Sq..

The deal delivers Topshop’s 56-yr tenancy on the road to an conclusion. It moved to Oxford Circus in 1965. 

Directors took more than the company which owns the web-site previous November soon after the collapse of Sir Philip’s Arcadia trend empire. They explored both sale and leasing alternative in advance of the deal with Ikea was agreed, according to Respond News.

Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group had also been interested in the web-site. But talks stalled because  Nike, an existing tenant in the constructing which will preserve its retail store open, has a clause in its lease prohibiting a competitor from running in the previous Topshop room. 

Wonderful Portland Estates, Criterion Cash and Ramsbury all enquired about the web-site without the need of talks progressing to a critical stage.

Returns from the sale will be utilized to reimburse senior loan company Apollo Cash Administration. Leftover funds will go intp plugging the £510m deficit in Arcadia’s pension scheme. 

The deal for the Oxford Circus retail store follows an arrangement with US real estate big Trammell Crow for Arcadia’s previous warehouse in Milton Keynes, as various Arcadia belongings are on the market. 

Ikea did not reply to a request for remark.