BILLIONAIRE retailer Philip Green is in line for a bumper £460m pay day after clearing his borrowings on fashion empire Arcadia.

The entrepreneur and his family have a 92 per cent stake in the Top Shop to Burtons group, leaving them in line for most of a £500m dividend to be awarded to shareholders.

It came as the group posted what analysts described as stunning results, with annual operating profits rising by 30 per cent to £296.3m.

Mr Green, whose £9bn offer for Marks & Spencer failed earlier this year, confirmed he had paid back the £808m HBOS bank loan taken out to buy Arcadia two years ago. The loan carried a six-year repayment schedule.

He said the group's 28,000 staff had helped deliver the results despite tough market conditions.

''The market remains challenging but we are confident that further progress can be made with our world class brands,'' he said.

News of the payout comes weeks after Mr Green's family collected £40m in dividends from the department store group Bhs. The billionaire gave no indication what the cash boost would be used for.