Background

Iconic clothing brand Aquascutum has been worn by royalty, celebrities and the rich and famous for more than 150 years; but when Aquascutum Ltd faced declining sales and a funding crisis, FRP was appointed as joint administrators to achieve the best result for the business and its stakeholders.

In recent years the company, established in 1851, had relied on the injection of significant funds from The Jaeger Group to remain solvent. With no more funding available from Jaeger, and the bank and shareholders unable to invest any more capital, the company couldn’t pay its debts and was forced to stop trading.

Action

FRP successfully traded the business in administration while carrying out an extensive review of the company’s business and assets. The company operated a number of stores and concessions as well as a loss-making factory in Corby. The factory was closed shortly after we were appointed administrators, with trading controlled and maintained from the company’s London headquarters.

Aquascutum Ltd had annual revenue of £22 million, with £40 million debt – of which £10 million was secured, £30 million unsecured.

Outcome

An extensive marketing process led to five credible offers and, following analysis of the offers, one party paid a £500,000 deposit and entered into an exclusivity agreement. FRP achieved £15 million from the sale of the business and assets, sufficient to repay the secured creditor in full and make a distribution to the unsecured creditors.