Retail tycoon Philip Green today said he had secured a windfall of more than £1 billion from his Topshop-to-Burton fashion empire.
As owners of about 92 per cent of the Arcadia chain, Mr Green and his family picked up the bulk of this year's £1.3 billion dividend to shareholders, which followed an "excellent set of results" for the year to August 27th.
Mr Green said the performance, which saw operating profits for the period rise 10.1 per cent to £326.1 million, had given Arcadia confidence to pay the dividend as well as continue to invest in the business.
Current trading conditions were described as challenging, but Mr Green said he believed Arcadia's mix of brands, including Miss Selfridge and Dorothy Perkins, would be able to compete.
The £1.2 billion dividend from Arcadia makes up for the failure of his other business, BHS, to declare a dividend with its annual results last week.
He said operational improvements, particularly in stock control and the speed at which products reach stores, had enabled Arcadia to generate in excess of £400 million of cash during the last financial year.
Total sales were 6.8 per cent higher at £1.77 billion, with the figure ahead 1.3 per cent on a like-for-like stores basis. With the market remaining "challenging and extremely competitive", the growth in total sales has slowed to 3 per cent in the period since the end of August.
Mr Green and his wife were said by this year's Sunday TimesRich List to be worth around £4.85 billion. The entrepreneur acquired Arcadia in October 2002 and made an unsuccessful attempt to land Marks & Spencer last year.