US vulture Elliott leads race to buy £500m dressmaker Reiss
US vulture Elliott leads race to buy £500m Reiss as designer Christopher Kane plunges into administration
Style: Kate Middleton (pictured) is a loyal fan of the household name Reiss, often dressed in the retailer’s smart blazers
Two fashion brands, loved by the Princess of Wales, faced an uncertain future yesterday. Luxury dressmaker Reiss is believed to be a takeover target for US investment fund Elliott Advisors, while designer Christopher Kane plunged into administration.
Kate Middleton is a staunch fan of the High Street name Reiss, often donning colourful, smart blazers from the retailer, and even chose a white dress from the brand for her engagement portrait to Prince William in 2010.
But Reiss may be sold to Elliott, the New York investment manager behind booksellers Foyles and Waterstones, in a deal that could be worth more than £500 million, according to Sky News. Lord Wolfson’s High Street clothing company Next has teamed up with private equity firm Warburg Pincus, which also has a stake in Reiss, to auction the business.
Reiss was founded in 1971 by David Reiss and now has over 60 stores across the UK.
It was called “an outstanding brand with huge potential” by Wolfson when he first acquired a 25 percent stake in the company in 2021.
Next now owns 51 percent of the fashion retailer, having increased its stake last summer.
Another brand adored by the Princess of Wales, Scottish firm Christopher Kane, said yesterday it would be appointing insolvency experts amid a struggle for survival.
It has launched an 11 a.m. effort to draft a bailout, which could see a refinancing deal or bailout of the company by a buyer.
A spokesman for Christopher Kane Limited said: ‘The board has recently decided to submit a notice of its intention to appoint FTS Recovery as trustees.
“This difficult decision was made to give the company enough time to implement a rescue plan.”
While the brand had amassed an “impressive fan base,” including Michelle Obama and Anna Wintour, as well as the Princess of Wales, Wizz & Co retail expert Wizz Selvey said Christopher Kane “relied too much” on expensive collections that “faltered in popularity and visibility due to the effect of the pandemic on much of the luxury fashion industry.”
The company was also forced to close stores and lay off a slew of employees during Covid, which hurt the brand longer term, Selvey said.