The future of five Kingston shops is uncertain after their parent company announced a nationwide closure programme.

Top Shop, BHS, Burton, Wallis and Dorothy Perkins are all owned by the Arcadia Group, which yesterday reported a 38 per cent fall in profits.

The group’s owner Sir Philip Green said 250 stores could close over the next three years depending on the outcome of lease renegotiations with land lords.

A group spokesman said the fate of individual stores would be decided on a case-by-case basis depending on how talks about leases for individual stores went.

He said: “We don't have specific information but over the next two or three years approximately 480 leases across the portfolio of more than 2,500 UK and Eire stores are due to expire.

“The probability is that we will close approximately 250 of these stores.

“We are obviously continually looking at our store portfolio, and there are plans for the opening of new stores and refurbishments in addition to closing on lease expires.”