The demise of Philip Green’s empire is a lesson: when a billionaire buys a yacht, expect business to go downhill

There are at least six stories in the collapse of Arcadia, the core of the retail empire run by Sir Philip Green and owned by his wife Tina, who is resident in Monaco and who in 2005 received the then largest-ever dividend of £1.2bn. While we don’t know the final outcome of a miserable tale, buyers may well pick up some of the Arcadia brands, which include Topshop, Miss Selfridge, Wallis Evans, Dorothy Perkins and Burton. There has been a pension deficit on Arcadia’s books for some time and last year Frank Field MP, now Lord Field, called on Sir Philip to cover it. But next time you see a story about a billionaire buying a yacht, expect their business to start heading down in the years ahead.