Fashion brand files for administration

Men and womenswear fashion line Enlist Brands has been put up for sale, following a series of cashflow problems. Insolvency practitioners Hudson Weir have been assigned to manage the administration process for the company.

Co-founders Mario Arena and Peter Farrow launched the brand in London 2015 with the aim of producing high-quality modern pieces for men and women that would feature as part of a season-less closet.

Enlist Brands traded across the world in the UK, USA, China, Japan and Saudi Arabia. It conducted sales with Mr Porter, and was stocked in high-street department store Harvey Nichols.

The brand even had plans to expand to e-retailer FarFetch in July this year.

The founders, however, cited the onset of Brexit amongst other factors as the reasons for the firm's poor success.

Arena said: “What hit us first was Brexit and the outcome from that. The cost of goods went up drastically and other things contributed to it. It’s been a very tough retail environment and there has been no summer.”

“We did have some amazing forward orders, [but] unless someone comes and purchases the brand or the trade mark it will probably be wound up in the next week,” he added.

The company has been in talks with a number of potential buyers hailing from China, Holland and the UK, but a formal agreement has not yet been reached.

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