Wife of Topshop owner Sir Philip Green ‘splashes out £190,000 for ultra-rare bottle of red wine’ as he battles to save Arcadia retail empire
- Tina Green reportedly shelled out on a 1869 bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild
- Scandal-hit husband Philip is undergoing a crisis in his retail empire Arcadia
- The company has been struggling against the rapid growth of online shopping
The wife of Topshop owner Sir Philip Green has reportedly forked out an estimated £190,000 for an ultra-rare bottle of red wine.
Tina Green bought the 1869 bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild at a charity auction amid the ongoing crisis at her husband’s retail empire.
She previously courted controversy when she took delivery of a £100million super yacht in 2016 while her husband’s former department store BHS was collapsing.
Tina Green (pictured), the wife of Topshop owner Sir Philip Green, has reportedly forked out an estimated £190,000 for a bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild at a charity auction
Sir Philip was accused of abandoning the BHS pension fund after selling the chain for £1 to former bankrupt Dominic Chappell in 2015. He eventually paid £363million to rescue the fund.
Now his wife has made the extravagant red wine purchase at a charity auction as he battles to save his Arcadia group, owner of Topshop and Dorothy Perkins.
The donation came courtesy of Ariane de Rothschild, 53, president of the executive committee of Edmond de Rothschild Group. The money will go to cancer charity EORTC, The Evening Standard reported.
Sir Philip Green is undergoing a crisis in his retail empire
Arcadia has been forced to consider a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), an agreement used by struggling high street businesses to negotiate rent cuts, to save the group.
The company has been struggling against the rapid growth of online shopping.
Sir Philip, 67, wants to close around 50 stores and seek rent reductions on the others in a bid to avoid mass closures and job losses.
He faces a multi-million pound rent bill in a June. He has pledged £50million for the overhaul but furious landlords have demanded more. If he fails to get a deal, he is likely to start an immediate sale process.
The tycoon is also battling a £300million pension black hole at Arcadia Group, according to the latest figures.
Retailers are battling against a High Street slowdown which saw more than 50,000 shopping jobs lost last year alone as consumers switched to online giants such as Amazon instead.
Casualties of the slump have included Debenhams and House of Fraser, which have both been rescued from administration. Even stalwarts such as John Lewis and Marks & Spencer have seen their profits hit.
Arcadia declined to comment.