Ms Christina Green, owner of Arcadia, plans to give £ 50m to the collapsing Retail Pension Fund.
A statement on behalf of the wife of Sir Philip Green – the registered owner of the company – said the payment in the next seven to ten days would complete a commitment made last year to pay £ 100m in scheme.
Lady Green had already made two contributions of £ 25m each, the final amount not due until September 2021.
The announcement comes as political pressure mounts on Arkadia Collapse in management Earlier this week – which put 13,000 jobs at risk.
Alok Sharma, Minister of Business, revealed that he has written to the Insolvency Department asking it to expand any future investigation into the company’s collapse to look into “whether any action by managers has harmed creditors or pension systems”.
And Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer claimed this as well, tweeting this week: “Philip Green must do the right thing and fill the shortfall in Arcadia’s pensions.”
The Lady Green pension plan payments were first pledged last year As part of the rescue package For the Topshop-to-Burton retail group that has been signed off by stakeholders including the pension planner and landlords, which has also resulted in store closings and rents cuts.
It was set to prove to be just a temporary delay as the coronavirus crisis added to the pressure on the company, culminating in a recall of Deloitte administrators.
They will now be looking for the owners of popular Arcadia brands that also include Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge.
The crash raised questions about the implications for Arkadia’s retirement system members – and what would happen to the Green family’s pledges at the time of last year’s restructuring.
A statement released on behalf of Lady Green on Wednesday said: “Last year Lady Green committed to paying £ 100 million in the company’s pension plan in three installments.
Two installments of £ 25m had already been paid as agreed, and the third and final installment of £ 50m was not due until September 2021.
“Lady Green will advance this payment to be paid in the next 7/10 days to complete the £ 100m repayment commitment.”
The pledge comes hours later Sky News revealed Leading City financier Eddie Truel has been in talks with Arkadia’s pension trustees about a deal that would absorb its 9,500 members into the Super Retirement Fund (PSF).
Truell and his senior colleagues were understood to believe that there was potential for Arcadia retirement pension scheme members to receive higher benefits after a deal with his company than they would be in their line of Retirement Protection Fund (PPF) – an industry-financed lifeboat.
Pension experts have estimated that Arcadia schemes have a so-called PPF deficit of around £ 350m.
Sir Philip previously faced scrutiny of the BHS pension black hole.
The retailer collapsed in 2016, a year after it sold bankrupt businessman Dominic Chappell – who was Recently imprisoned For tax evasion.
Sir Philip eventually paid up to £ 363m to solve the BHS ‘pension crisis.
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