Faith merges with Envy
by Real Deals & Real Business - Thursday, 11th September 2008 -
Faith Shoes, a former Bridgepoint portfolio company, has been sold to Scottish retail entrepreneur John Kinnaird and distressed company investment fund Agilo.
The sale was secured after the appointment of Simon Granger and Chad Griffin of FTI Consulting as joint administrators.
Faith was put into administration after the shoe company’s bankers Barclays declined a debt-for-equity swap offer from Bridgepoint, and opted to put the struggling business up for sale instead.
Prior to the talks with Barclays, Bridgepoint had already injected an additional £15m of equity into the flagging retailer, which it acquired in a £64m (€80m) buyout from the founder’s son, Jonathan Faith.
The sale to Kinnaird will allow the business to continue operating, protecting the Faith brand and 2,000 jobs. Barclays will continue to hold a minority stake as part of the deal and will supply working capital facilities alongside Agilo.
Under the terms of the agreement, Faith will be combined with men’s clothing firm Envy, currently owned by Kinnaird and teenage fashion business Chilli Pepper, owned by Agilo.
The new business will have around 140 stores across the UK, as well as over 200 concessions in the UK and Continental Europe.
Picture source
WHAT NEXT?
Sign up for our newsletter and get our weekly pick of business news in your inbox!
Subscribe to our magazine for in depth interviews and advice from leading entrepreneurs!
Join our forum and talk business with other entrepreneurs!
Related tags: faith, bridgepoint, faith shoes, barclays, jonathan faith, john kinnaird, entrepreneur, agilo, scottish entrepreneur,
LATEST FROM REAL BUSINESS >>
08/02/2010
05/02/2010
05/02/2010
05/02/2010
05/02/2010
