LK Bennett chain for sale at £150 million

LK Bennett, the womenswear fashion house famous for it shoe chain is up for sale at £150 million. LK Bennett employs 600 staff in 74 stores, including 1 in Paris and 3 in Ireland.

The business was founded and owned by Linda Bennett, who tried to sell the business in 2004 for £75 million, suitors included 3i but they were not prepared to meet the asking price. The chain is popular with celebrities for its shoes, clothes and accessories collections.

However, Ms Bennett now considers the business to be desirable after she expanded into clothing and invested in computer systems. Furthermore, sales in the 12 months to 31 July topped £45 million, leading to profits of £8.5 million.

Ms Bennett has appointed investment bank Rothschild to seek a buyer, with private-equity houses seen as the most likely bidders.

The chain is favoured by celebrities such as Kate Moss, Penelope Cruz and Nigella Lawson. Ms Bennett opened her first shop in Wimbledon in 1990 and has stores on Brook Street and King’s Road and concessions in Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and Fenwick.

She opened the store with a view to bridging the gap between top-level designer goods and the High Street. She is a former entrepreneur of the year and received an OBE in 2007.

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