Published
Feb 18, 2019
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Advisors called in at LK Bennett, could it be sold?

Published
Feb 18, 2019

Mid-market footwear and apparel chain LK Bennett could be up for sale again with reports that the founder of the business, Linda Bennett, has called in advisors to look at options for it. The move comes only 18 months after she regained control of the firm following her earlier sale of a majority stake. 


LK Bennett



Sky News reported that AlixPartners will be overseeing a strategic review that could result in a sale of the company against the background of a tough UK environment for physical stores and one in which a variety of other fashion retail businesses, large and small, are also mulling their options.

Insiders told the news organisation that it’s not a certainty that Bennett would decide to sell, but added that there’s a realistic prospect that she could sell at least a stake in the firm to an outside investor,

And it wouldn’t be the first time if that happened. Bennett had sold control of the company back in 2008, bringing in a consortium led by private equity firm Phoenix Equity Partners. And Sirius Equity Partners, the firm linked to ex-Jimmy Choo chief Robert Bensoussan, also acquired a stake.

It’s unclear how much LK Bennett might be valued at today. A decade ago, the sale gave it a value of around £100 million, but it might not fetch that much now after several years of losses and in the face of unprecedented change happening on the high street. 

After the original sale, Bennett stepped down from the company she had founded 18 years earlier, but she returned as a consultant two years ago in a deal engineered by then-CEO Darren Topp. She bought back full control in autumn 2017.

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