Latest news with #CécileReinaud
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Maternity fashion brand worn by Princess of Wales falls into administration
A maternity fashion brand previously worn by the Princess of Wales has collapsed into administration, two years after it quit the London stock market. The majority of Seraphine's 95 employees have been made redundant following the appointment of Interpath as administrators. The business has also immediately ceased to trade. It comes after weeks of attempts to find a buyer for the business, as it battled a cash crunch. While there was some interest following a process that began in June, a buyer for the whole business could not be found. Will Wright, the UK chief of Interpath, said: 'Unfortunately, the strong economic headwinds that have been impacting a number of the UK's high street and online retailers, including rising costs and brittle consumer confidence, have proved too challenging to overcome.' Interpath said it was exploring options for the business and its assets, including the Seraphine brand. It said it was providing support to staff who had been made redundant. Founded in 2002 in London by French entrepreneur Cécile Reinaud, the maternity brand's clothes were worn by the Princess of Wales in 2013 for the first official family portrait following the birth of Prince George. Seraphine's clothing has also been worn by celebrities including Kate Winslet, Anne Hathaway, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Myleen Klass. The company floated on the London Stock Exchange in the summer of 2021 at a value of £150m. However, it suffered a string of profit warnings and Seraphine's majority shareholder Mayfair Equity Partners, a private equity firm, took it off the stock market in 2023. At the time, Mayfair agreed to inject fresh capital as part of a takeover that valued the company at just £15.3m. Seraphine has continued to struggle since going private. It made an operating loss of £13m on revenues of £42m during its latest financial year. Ms Reinaud, who left Seraphine in 2021, has publicly criticised the stewardship of Mayfair. She wrote on LinkedIn earlier this year: 'My original vision was to create clothes you'd want to wear even if you weren't pregnant. That guiding principle seems to have vanished now. 'Just yesterday, the brand unveiled a new logo that makes it resemble a Scandinavian label. Why abandon our unique British heritage and signature regal purple? 'Seraphine was once a proud example of British fashion entrepreneurship, recipient of two Queen's Awards: now, it seems to have lost its recognisable identity.' Mayfair defended the rebrand at the time as 'a hugely exciting moment for Seraphine, with the unveiling of its enhanced website and refreshed brand identity that incorporated consumer desire for a modernised look and feel.' The company's collapse marks the latest sign of mounting pressure on the high street. A string of fashion brands including Quiz Clothing and Select Fashion have entered administration in recent months. The number of companies in critical financial distress rocketed towards the end of last year, according to corporate restructuring firm Begbies 'Red Flag Alert', rising 50pc between the end of September and December. Retail was identified as one of the sectors facing acute challenges. High street businesses have been battling against a downturn in consumer confidence. Figures last month suggested that nervous families had frozen spending, with the British Retail Consortium finding that retail sales were up just 1pc in the year to May. Like other businesses, shops also face higher costs as a result of the changes to employers' National Insurance contributions and minimum wage, which took effect in April. Mayfair and Seraphine did not respond to requests for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Irish Sun
08-07-2025
- Business
- The Irish Sun
Major clothing retailer loved by Kate Middleton collapses into administration and website is shut down
A MAJOR clothing retailer beloved by Kate Middleton had crashed into administration. Seraphine, the maternity fashion retailer beloved by the Princess of Wales, has stopped trading leaving the "majority" of its 95 staff redundant. Advertisement 3 Seraphine became a household name after Kate Middleton wore its designs during her three pregnancies Credit: Getty 3 But the retailer, founded in London in 2002, was hit hard by 'rising costs and brittle consumer confidence', according to its administrators Credit: Getty 3 Cécile Reinaud, who founded the company but left in 2021, has been critical of the direction it took after her departure Credit: Richard Pohle Known for its stylish maternity wear, Seraphine became a household name after Kate Middleton wore its designs during her three pregnancies. The brand's popularity soared, with items selling out after she was spotted in them. At its peak, Seraphine had 10 stores around the world, including in New York, Hong Kong, Dubai, and Paris. However, consultancy firm Interpath confirmed on Monday that it had been appointed as administrators for the company. Advertisement The retailer, founded in London in 2002, was hit hard by "rising costs and brittle consumer confidence," according to Will Wright, UK chief executive of Interpath. He said these economic challenges had proved "too challenging to overcome." Seraphine's flagship store on Kensington High Street and its online shop are now closed, with its website previously offering discounts of up to 60% before becoming inaccessible to shoppers. The retailer's goods were also stocked in well-known outlets like John Lewis and Next. Advertisement Most read in Money The company had been struggling financially for some time. After listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2021 with a valuation of £150m, Seraphine was taken back into private ownership in 2023 when its value had fallen to just £15.3million. Despite a relaunch in April focusing on "form, function and fit," the brand was unable to recover. Popular retailer to RETURN 13 years after collapsing into administration and shutting 236 stores Interpath says it is now exploring options for the business, including selling its assets and the Seraphine brand. If no buyer is found, the company will be shut down entirely, and its saleable assets liquidated. Advertisement Cécile Reinaud, who founded the company but left in 2021, has been critical of the direction it took after her departure. She recently opposed the loss of Seraphine's "unique British heritage" and its signature regal purple branding, which were replaced with a Scandinavian-inspired aesthetic. She said: "My original vision was to create clothes you'd want to wear even if you weren't pregnant. What does it mean when a company goes into administration? ADMINISTRATION is when all control of a company is passed to an appointed to a licensed insolvency practitioner. It doesn't necessarily mean the end of the business. Instead, administrators will try to help a company find ways to repay debts or solve its cashflow problems. Administration can last anywhere from a few weeks to up to a year or more. But if the administration process can't rescue the company or find a new owner, this can lead to liquidation. Liquidation is the process of selling all assets and then dissolving the company completely. "That guiding principle seems to have vanished now." Advertisement Despite its struggles, Seraphine was once a darling of the high street, dressing celebrities like Anne Hathaway, The Princess of Wales even wore the brand for the first official family portrait after Prince George's birth. Staff who lost their jobs because of the company's closure will be helped to make claims for redundancy payments, Interpath said. What are my rights if I'm made redundant? YOU are entitled to statutory redundancy pay if you have worked for your employer for two years or more. The statutory rate is based on your age, weekly pay and number of years in the job. You will get: Half a week's pay for each full year you worked aged under 22 One week's pay for each full year you worked aged 22 or older, but under 41 One and half week's pay for each full year you worked while aged 41 or older. You cannot be paid less than the statutory amount. If you were made redundant on or after April 6 2025, your weekly pay is capped at £719 and the maximum statutory redundancy pay you can get is £21,570. The government has a You may get more than this statutory amount if your employer has a redundancy scheme. Customers are unlikely to receive their orders unless they've already been shipped. Advertisement However, certain card protections will grant you the power to get a refund. If you paid via finance, then you must contact the provider directly. If you've paid for an order via a credit card , you should contact your provider and claim the deposit under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. To make a valid claim the goods or service you bought must have cost over £100 and not more than £30,000. Advertisement It means that if you pay for a big purchase on your credit card and something happens - like the goods aren't delivered or the shop goes bust - your card provider is just as responsible as the retailer for refunding you. Section 75 also applies to goods bought in-store, online, over the phone or mail order. To make a claim, contact your credit card provider - your first port of call should be its customer services phone number - and tell them you want to make a claim under Section 75. It should then send you a claim form, which you can fill in, and your provider will use to process your application. Advertisement You cannot make a Section 75 claim if you paid by debit card. However, these customers have another means to request a refund. Chargeback is a consumer protection mechanism that allows individuals to request a refund from their bank or card issuer if they encounter issues with a purchase made using a credit or debit card. While chargeback is not a legal right in the UK, it is part of the voluntary schemes run by card networks like Visa, Mastercard, and American Express, and is widely supported by banks and financial institutions. Advertisement Here, your bank will try to get your money back from Seraphine's bank. You typically have 120 days from the date of the transaction to submit a claim. Usually, it's just a phone call where you tell the card firm what happened and ask it to do a chargeback. Once you've spoken to your bank you'll need to provide the full details of your transaction with Carpetright. Advertisement Some banks will ask you to fill out a claim form. The chain's administrators haven't confirmed how to claim cash refunds yet. Why is the retail sector struggling? The retail sector has struggled in recent years due to the onset of online shopping and lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic. Higher inflation since 2022 has also hit shoppers' budgets while businesses have struggled with higher wage, tax and energy costs. Advertisement Last month, Polish owner Pepco Group sold Poundland to US investment firm Gordon Brothers for £1 after a downturn in trading. The new owners are now asking the court for permission to close 68 stores and negotiate lower rents on others, with up to 82 more stores potentially shutting in the future. Both Hobbycraft and The Original Factory Shop are also shutting branches as part of restructuring efforts. Higher inflation since 2022 has also hit shoppers' budgets while businesses have struggled with higher wage, tax and energy costs. Advertisement Read more on the Irish Sun The Centre for Retail Research has described the sector as going through a "permacrisis" since the 2008 financial crash. Figures from the Centre also show 34 retail companies operating multiple stores stopped trading in 2024, leading to the closure of 7,537 shops. RETAIL PAIN IN 2025 The British Retail Consortium predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion. Research by the British Chambers of Commerce showed that more than half of companies planned to raise prices by early April. A survey of more than 4,800 firms also found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024. Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year. It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year. Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025." Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector. "By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020.
The Sun
07-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Major clothing retailer loved by Kate Middleton on brink of collapsing into administration risking huge job losses
A MAJOR clothing retailer beloved by Kate Middleton is on the brink of collapsing into administration. The maternity fashion brand was a favourite of Kate's during her pregnancies. 3 3 3 Seraphine has reportedly filed a notice of intent to appoint administrators two years after leaving the London stock market. In June the company filing indicated its plan to find a new strategic partner which could include finding a new investor or pursuing a full sale. It leaves the company's future uncertain, putting jobs at risk. Seraphine currently employs 95 individuals who could be made redundant depending on the outcome of the process. It had undergone a relaunch in April, emphasising "forum, function and fit" according to The company was founded in 2002 in London by Cécile Reinaud, but it has experienced financial difficulty since she left the company in 2021. It comes despite the brand's former success among celebrities, being worn by Kate Winslet, Anne Hathaway and Myleene Klass. Seraphine was also the brand donned by the Princess of Wales for the first official family portrait after Prince George's birth. While it was valued at £150m on the London Stock Exchange in 2021, by 2023 its majority shareholder Mayfair Equity Partners, had decided to take it back off the market. Its value had fallen to a reported £15.3m as profits declined. Popular retailer to RETURN 13 years after collapsing into administration and shutting 236 stores The financial trouble did not improve even after going private, making an operating loss of £13m on revenues of £42m in the last financial year. In a post on LinkedIn earlier this year, Reinaud criticised the direction the brand had taken after she left. She wrote: "My original vision was to create clothes you'd want to wear even if you weren't pregnant. "That guiding principle seems to have vanished now." She also criticised the company's rebrand as it moved away from its "unique British heritage and signature regal purple" towards a more Scandinavian inspired logo. Cécile added: "Seraphine was once a proud example of British fashion entrepreneurship, recipient of two Queen's Awards: now, it seems to have lost its recognisable identity." It comes as other high street retailers struggle to survive among declining business. Fellow retailers like Quiz Clothing and Select Fashion have recently entered into administration. Since Covid, many retailers have struggled to adapt to a consumer base that has moved increasingly online. With high streets left almost empty, brick and mortar stores have begun to close at a concerning rate. These issues have been compounded by the cost of living crisis - with businesses facing higher National Insurance contributions and minimum wage since April of this year. What does it mean when a company goes into administration? ADMINISTRATION is when all control of a company is passed to an appointed to a licensed insolvency practitioner. It doesn't necessarily mean the end of the business. Instead, administrators will try to help a company find ways to repay debts or solve its cashflow problems. Administration can last anywhere from a few weeks to up to a year or more. But if the administration process can't rescue the company or find a new owner, this can lead to liquidation. Liquidation is the process of selling all assets and then dissolving the company completely.
Telegraph
07-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Maternity fashion brand worn by Princess of Wales falls into administration
A maternity fashion brand previously worn by the Princess of Wales is on the brink of collapse two years after it quit the London stock market. Seraphine has posted a notice to appoint administrators, according to court filings on Monday. The documents reveal that financial advisory business Interpath has been brought in to handle the process. It comes after weeks of attempts to find a buyer for the business. While there was some interest following a process that began in June, a buyer for the whole business could not be found. Seraphine is now expected to enter administration shortly. Founded in 2002 in London by French entrepreneur Cécile Reinaud, the maternity brand's clothes were worn by the Princess of Wales in 2013 for the first official family portrait following the birth of Prince George. Seraphine's clothing has also been worn by celebrities including Kate Winslet, Anne Hathaway, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Myleen Klass. The company floated on the London Stock Exchange in the summer of 2021 at a value of £150m. However, it suffered a string of profit warnings and Seraphine's majority shareholder Mayfair Equity Partners, a private equity firm, took it off the stock market in 2023. At the time, Mayfair agreed to inject fresh capital as part of a takeover that valued the company at just £15.3m. Seraphine has continued to struggle since going private. It made an operating loss of £13m on revenues of £42m during its latest financial year. 'Why abandon our unique British heritage?' Ms Reinaud, who left Seraphine in 2021, has publicly criticised the stewardship of Mayfair. She wrote on LinkedIn earlier this year: 'My original vision was to create clothes you'd want to wear even if you weren't pregnant. That guiding principle seems to have vanished now. 'Just yesterday, the brand unveiled a new logo that makes it resemble a Scandinavian label. Why abandon our unique British heritage and signature regal purple? 'Seraphine was once a proud example of British fashion entrepreneurship, recipient of two Queen's Awards: now, it seems to have lost its recognisable identity.' Mayfair defended the rebrand at the time as 'a hugely exciting moment for Seraphine, with the unveiling of its enhanced website and refreshed brand identity that incorporated consumer desire for a modernised look and feel.' The company's expected collapse marks the latest sign of mounting pressure on the high street. A string of fashion brands including Quiz Clothing and Select Fashion have entered administration in recent months. The number of companies in critical financial distress rocketed towards the end of last year, according to corporate restructuring firm Begbies 'Red Flag Alert', rising 50pc between the end of September and December. Retail was identified as one of the sectors facing acute challenges. High street businesses have been battling against a downturn in consumer confidence. Figures last month suggested that nervous families had frozen spending, with the British Retail Consortium finding that retail sales were up just 1pc in the year to May. Like other businesses, shops also face higher costs as a result of the changes to employers' National Insurance contributions and minimum wage, which took effect in April.
