The last time Marks & Spencer proposed knocking down its flagship store at Marble Arch on London’s Oxford Street in 2004 was the beginning of the end for the management team of Roger Holmes and Luc Vandevelde.
As the shares sank, the M&S old guard took to the barricades. Philip Green launched his bid and Stuart Rose and City veteran Paul Myners were drafted in to see off the Arcadia and BHS tycoon.
Rose, an M&S veteran, ditched the Holmes plan and went on to restore the firm’s reputation by taking profits back up to £1billion.
Marks & Spencer's flagship store at Marble Arch on London's Oxford Street (pictured) has long been part of the company's corporate vanity