Aquascutum lures bid from Jaegar veteran
JAEGER fashion chain chairman Harold Tillman is considering a bid for 158-year-old fashion brand Aquascutum.
The tailoring company, famous for its trench coats, would likely fetch less than the £100m its current owners – the Japanese clothing manufacturer Renown – paid for it in 1990.
Alan Lewis, the owner of clothing brand Crombie, is also interested in Aquascutum, which employs about 120 people at its factory in Northamptonshire and has a flagship store in Regent Street.
Despite the group’s established reputation as a leading fashion brand it has been loss-making for years. Any offer is believed to be unlikely to come close to covering Renown’s investment and the losses it has racked up since. Former chief executive Kim Winser attempted to lead a buy-out in May but since the failed attempt other bidders have emerged.
Aquascutum, whose name comes from the latin for water and shield, developed its classic trench coat style to keep soldiers warm and dry during the Second World War.