BERLIN, July 11, 2009 (AFP) - The German high-end women's clothes label Escada, which is threatened with bankruptcy, may cease trading, the chairman of the board Bruno Saelzer said in a newspaper interview published Sunday 12 July.

Escada

"Talks have already taken place with insolvency experts," he told the newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

He said he hoped it would not come to that, but the group was in a very difficult situation. He said it had enough liquidity to last until August but not beyond.

A spokesman told AFP a few days ago that Escada could "theoretically" seek financial aid from the state within weeks if it managed to restructure its debts.

It has put a debt restructuring plan to its creditors which must be approved by 80 percent of them by a July 31 deadline.

Failing that, Saelzer said it would be "inevitable" that Escada would cease trading, as "98 of the 99 possible measures" to save the company had already been taken.

Escada parted company in May with its mid-market subsidiary Primera.