Next is no longer in the race to buy Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group.

“Next plc announces that it has withdrawn from the process to acquire any, or all, of the Arcadia Group from the Administrator,” the retailer said in a statement on Thursday.

Earlier this week the British clothing, footwear, and homeware retailer was named potential frontrunner in the buyout of Sir Philip Green’s retail empire, which includes the TopShop brand.

It was reported that the retailer would be bidding for the group in partnership with US hedge fund Davidson Kempner.

Next was one of many bidders for the retail empire; in December Primark and Authentic Brands were listed as just two of 40 parties interesting in buying parts of the group.

More recently it’s been reported that Authentic Brands, the New York based brand management company which has Juicy Couture in its portfolio, has been in talks about a potential joint bid for the retail empire with JD Sports.

Billionaire Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has also indicated that it is interested in buying some of Arcadia’s most iconic brands, including TopShop.

Last year River Island was also identified as a potential bidder.

At the end of last year it was reported that Arcadia administrator Deloitte was seeking bids of up to £200 million for TopShop.

The forced closure of stores across the Arcadia group as a result of COVID-19 restrictions had a significant impact on the group last year.

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