Savile Row tailor placed into liquidation as quest for buyer fails
The parent company behind London’s iconic men’s tailor Gieves & Hawkes has been put into liquidation after failed attempts to woo potential buyers.
FTI Consulting and R&H Services have been appointed as joint liquidators for the 250-year-old brand, alongside its sister brands Kent & Curwen and Cerutti, according to The Times newspaper.
The newspaper reported that the liquidators were drafted in by the company’s lender, Standard Chartered, after advisory firm RSM failed to find a buyer.
In 2012, the Savile Row tailor was snapped up by Trinity Limited, which is overseen by Shandong Ruyi Technology Group.
Financial woes
Shandong Ruyi has faced mountains of debt and defaulted on bond payments, with its financial situation severely impacted by the pandemic.
Its deteriorating finances come after a buying spree that saw the acquisitions of London-based luxury clothing retailer Aquascutum and Paris-based fashion house Cerruti 1881 in 2015.
The company recently launched an appeal against a winding-up order in courts in Bermuda and Hong Kong.
It had been thought a sale would likely involve another Chinese buyer, although there were hopes that the firm could woo British supermarket titan Marks & Spencer.
Trinity Limited is also thought to owe millions to David Beckham, the footballer, after an agreement to licence his name and image for its Kent & Curwen brand was terminated early.