Arcadia administrators sell Evans brand to Australia's City Chic

LONDON (Reuters) - Deloitte, the administrators of collapsed British fashion group Arcadia Group, said on Monday it has agreed the sale of its Evans brand, e-commerce and wholesale business to City Chic Collective Limited for 23 million pounds ($31 million).

Evans is the first Arcadia brand to be sold. The deal excludes the Evans store network. Deloitte said the stores will continue to trade for the time being.

City Chic is an omni-channel retailer specialising in plus-size women’s apparel, footwear and accessories listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

Philip Green's Arcadia fell into administration last month, putting over 13,000 jobs at risk and becoming the country's biggest corporate casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic so far.

Its other brands are Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis, Miss Selfridge, Burton and Outfit.

"The process to secure new owners for the other Arcadia Group brands is ongoing. There have been significant expressions of interest for all brands," Deloitte said.

Mike Ashley's Frasers Group has said it is interested in participating in the sale process, while media reports have linked Next and U.S. group Authentic Brands with possible offers.

Deloitte said it expected to provide a further update in the new year.

($1 = 0.7490 pounds)

(Reporting by James Davey; editing by Jason Neely)