Topshop, Miss Selfridge and Dorothy Perkins are reportedly now worth about half their £800 million value, following the parent company Arcadia’s administration.
Arcadia’s retailers were valued at £800 million in January by consultancy Brand Finance, with Topshop alone accounting for almost £400 million Topshop and Topman are Arcadia’s flagship brands.
Boohoo is thought to be the front runner in the race to buy Topshop.
The Covid-19 pandemic has also likely added further damage to the brands.
Arcadia’s administrator Deloitte will be seeking to preserve as much of the business as possible.
That means buyers are likely to get preferential treatment if they are willing to take on the entire Topshop/Topman operation, rather than just the brands and online platforms.
Arcadia owner Sir Philip Green appointed administrators from Deloitte after the company collapsed on Monday when talks with a number of lenders about an emergency £30 million loan hit a dead end.
The administration has placed 13,000 jobs at risk of redundancy.