The struggling fashion group – which owns brands such as Topshop, Burton and Miss Selfridge – said all store staff have been furloughed from March 21, with “the majority” of head-office employees to follow suit from April 5.

All furloughed staff will be placed on the government’s coronavirus job retention scheme, which will allow them to receive 80% of their salaries up to £2,500 a month.

Arcadia closed its store estate on March 20 and said that, given the ongoing uncertainty around how long those closures would be in place, it had to take these measures to mitigate the financial impact on the group.