Style Group at risk of administration filing - report

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
May 22, 2017

Privately owned Style Group Brands is urgently seeking backers as its risks an administration filing, according to a news report late Monday. The company, formed from the merger of Jacques Vert and Irisa, owns a number of classic womenswear brands including Dash, Eastex and Precis.

Fashion Network reported two months ago that Style Group was mulling options including a sale or a restructuring, but it now seems that an administration filing is a real risk if new investors are not found.

Sky News reported that KPMG, which been been called in earlier to advise on the options for Style Group, would be appointed to handle the process if a filing happens. But any action, whether it’s a sale or administration, is unlikely to happen until next week as talks are still ongoing, Sky said. It also said that it had tried to contact the firm's parent company but it had delcined to comment.

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Style Group is owned by private equity firm Sun European Partners and oversees an operation that includes 1,850 outlets in 470 stores. It has 1,100 staff spread across the UK, Europe and Canada (where it has a large outerwear business). It’s Britain’s biggest operator of retail concessions and is a major presence in UK department stores including Debenhams and House of Fraser as well as John Lewis online.

It is likely that any restructuring or administration filing would mean job losses and a reduction in concession numbers.