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Sir Philip Green has handed another £25m to Arcadia's pension scheme in an eleventh-hour deal that improves his chances of averting the collapse into administration of his Top Shop empire.

Arcadia Group and The Pensions Regulator (TPR) confirmed on Tuesday night that they had reached an agreement meaning that the watchdog would back a crucial vote to restructure the company's financial liabilities.

The support of Arcadia's pension stakeholders, revealed by Sky News, means the fate of Sir Philip's business now rests in the hands of major landlords when votes are cast at a meeting in Central London on Wednesday afternoon.

Under the deal struck between Arcadia and TPR, the Green family will commit a total package of cash and property assets worth £385m to the retailer's pension scheme over the next three years.

In statements issued after the agreement was signed, the watchdog, Arcadia's pension trustees and the Pension Protection Fund said it had resulted in the best possible deal for 9500 retirement scheme members.

The conclusion of a deal, which follows months of negotiations, came just days after the regulator demanded £50m of additional contributions from Sir Philip.

The decision to accept a lower sum may therefore attract some scrutiny, particularly if Arcadia fails to trade its way through a brutal retail environment in the coming years.

Property-owners have told Arcadia that they will not decide how to cast their votes until the meeting to approve a series of Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs) gets underway at 12pm in London.

Without landlords' support in six votes - with the seventh already secured if the pension scheme votes in favour - Arcadia would collapse into administration on Wednesday evening.

Negotiations with the pensions watchdog had already seen Sir Philip's family agreeing to inject £100m into the Arcadia retirement fund.

The tycoon has also pledged roughly £185m of security in the form of its flagship Top Shop store on London's Oxford Street and other assets to the pension fund, while the company would also inject £25m in annual contributions during the next three years.

The fact that landlords could yet vote against the CVAs underlines the continued knife-edge on which Sir Philip's business - and his legacy as a retailer - now hinges.

Wednesday's votes will determine the future of a retail behemoth employing 18,000 people.

Documents sent to creditors have warned that Sir Philip's empire is "highly likely, either immediately or after a short time period, to enter into insolvent administration or liquidation" if the CVA proposals are defeated.

Trade creditors have already indicated their intention to vote in favour, according to one source close to Arcadia.

If Arcadia does collapse, it would be the most stunning casualty in a sector brutalised by difficult trading conditions in recent years.

While big names such as Debenhams, House of Fraser, Maplin, Toys 'R' Us have all entered some form of insolvency or disappeared, the demise of a tycoon widely lauded as 'the king of the high street' would be the most notable by far.

Arcadia's collapse into administration would herald a break-up of the group, with significant interest likely to be registered in buying Top Shop but a lesser appetite for a takeover of brands like Evans and Wallis.

Deloitte is understood to have been placed on standby to act as Arcadia's administrator, according to creditors who have been briefed on the process.

Under Arcadia's proposals, nearly 50 stores will close with the loss of well over 500 jobs.

If approved, the CVAs would result in rents at nearly 200 shops being cut by between 30% and 70%.

In return, landlords would be handed a 20% stake in the company.

Sir Philip - whose wife, Lady Tina, is technically Arcadia's owner - has also pledged another £50m to the company, which owns the Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge brands.

That money would be used to support working capital, while another £50m of the tycoon's fortune has already been used to pay down part of the group's bank debt.

The tycoon recently paid $1 (76p) to buy back his private equity partner's 25% stake in Topshop and Topman in April, has been remote from the negotiations about Arcadia's future.

A deal between TPR and Sir Philip averts the risk of the regulator being blamed if Arcadia goes bust, which would result in an outcome for nearly 10,000 pension scheme members that is ultimately inferior to the deal proposed by Sir Philip.

In 2017, he agreed to pay up to £363m to compensate BHS pensioners following a furious row over the department store chain's collapse little more than a year after he sold it for £1 to the former bankrupt, Dominic Chappell.

The efforts to secure Arcadia's future come after a miserable period for the tycoon, who has been embroiled in a storm over his behaviour towards Arcadia employees and his use of non-disclosure agreements to prevent former workers discussing their severance packages.

On Friday, he was charged in Arizona in relation to his behaviour towards a pilates instructor, although he has denied any unlawful wrongdoing.