IN a further blow to Basingstoke's retail offering, Topshop won't be reopening - despite a buyout.

The Festival Place clothing store will remain permanently closed as its new owner, web fashion behemoth Asos, will be moving the brand online.

It comes a week after it was announced Debenhams would be digital only, leaving the Basingstoke shopping centre with a gigantic hole to fill.

Asos has confirmed it has sealed the takeover of Topshop and three other brands from the collapse of the Arcadia retail empire for £265 million on Monday morning.

Administrators for Sir Philip Green’s retail group said Asos has paid an additional £65 million for current and pre-ordered stock.

Asos told investors that it will take on around 300 employees as part of the deal, which will not include any of the brands’ stores.

Arcadia collapsed into insolvency at the start of December after pandemic closures further exacerbated the group’s troubles.

Last week, Boohoo said it was in exclusive talks to buy the Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton brands in a move which will also not include any stores.

Asos said its acquisition of the four brands will “resonate” with its core customer base of “20-somethings” in the UK.

It said it expects the deal to complete later this week, adding that it will also see £20 million worth of one-off restructuring and transaction costs.

Asos chief executive Nick Beighton said the company was “looking at” the possibility of retaining Topshop’s flagship store on Oxford Street, but admitted it was “not a priority”.

Festival Place has been contacted for comment.

“It is something we are considering but we are not a stores business,” he said.

“Our priority is to double down on the brands, which we’ve seen perform incredibly well across our platform.”

Asos said the Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge websites will start re-directing customers to Asos from “Wednesday evening or Thursday morning”.

Mr Beighton said more clothing lines from the acquired brands will appear on its site from this period, with the first Asos-designed Topshop and Topman products expected to appear later in the year.

He added: “We are extremely proud to be the new owners of the Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT brands.

“The acquisition of these iconic British brands is a hugely exciting moment for Asos and our customers and will help accelerate our multi-brand platform strategy.

“We have been central to driving their recent growth online and, under our ownership, we will develop them further, using our design, marketing, technology and logistics expertise, and working closely with key strategic retail partners in the UK and around the world.”