Spice Girls 'split'

The Spice Girls have decided to call it a day, according to reports.

The British group had planned to embark on a world tour in 2014, but after Victoria Beckham ruled herself out of the shows, the remaining bandmates were apparently forced to rethink their future together. According to British newspaper The Mirror, Mel B, Mel C, Emma Bunton and Geri Halliwell made the decision to retire in a conference call ten days ago. It seems they were worried they would struggle to sell tickets and merchandise without Victoria.

"Led by Geri, the girls had been plotting a world tour as a four-piece band, culminating in a final night at Wembley Stadium. The other girls had been initially up for it but once they started having meetings they realised the capital wasn't there," a source told the publication. "They also feared a general apathy from the public if Posh wasn't in the fray, leading to dates not selling out.

"Victoria's obviously a big pull when it comes to the fans and she also guarantees press coverage."

Geri, Mel C and Emma are believed to have discussed the matter further when they recently attended a fancy dress birthday bash in the UK.

Although they had been eager to tour again, they weren't sure if they could pull it off without Victoria – whose connections in the industry proved invaluable when they last hit the road.

"Although they all desperately wanted to do it, they couldn't take the risk of it being a flop – the Spice Girls could only ever go out on a high," the source added. "On the last tour Victoria cut a huge amount of costs by getting sponsors, organising the designers to sort the outfits and she even persuaded Jacko and Madonna's choreographer Jamie King to get involved."

If the rumours are true, this hasn't been the best month for the group.

It was recently revealed that their West End musical show Viva Forever! is to close after failing to impress when it debuted in December last year.

In recent years each band member has carved out a solo career, with Victoria running a successful fashion empire, Emma landing a radio show, Mel C continuing to release music, while Mel B and Geri are both judges on TV talent shows.