Thu, 27 May 2021 | ADMINISTRATION
The future of luxury fashion brand Ralph & Russo is in doubt after a potential buyer pulled out of a deal to acquire the business at the last minute. Filings at Companies House revealed that the anonymous buyer withdrew in early May and that, the following day, the company’s creative director and co-founder Tamara Ralph resigned from the business.
The company went into administration in March as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and appointed Begbies Traynor Managing Partner Paul Appleton and Quantuma MD Andrew Andronikou as joint administrators. The administrators then began running an accelerated sales process, with five anonymous potential buyers coming forward.
At the time of the administration, Tamara Ralph commented: "I would also like to reaffirm my commitment to the brand and to taking it to new heights in the future. My clients, staff and I have an unbreakable bond and we will come through this together."
However, two days before a deal was set to close, the leading bidder decided to withdraw from the acquisition. The brand’s future now appears to be in doubt, especially given Ralph’s resignation following a “dispute” with co-founder Michael Russo.
Administrators have said that they are still in talks with numerous parties and hope to conclude a deal for the business. However, they added that the interested parties were largely individual entrepreneurs rather than businesses. Administrators also said that, as a result of the massive impact of COVID-19 on the sector, there had been no interest in the brand from fashion or retail buyers.
If the administrators are unable to sell the whole business, it is thought that they may seek to sell its assets separately. The company, which had debts of close to £28 million when it collapsed in March, had fixed and current assets worth around £12.1 million at the time of its most recently available accounts for the year ending March 31 2019.
Read more about COVID-19's impact on the fashion sector.
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