// Aspinal of London’s CVA proposal given the green light by more than 75% of its creditors
// Exact details of the CVA not yet clear, but the retailer still hasn’t re-opened its 10 stores since lockdown ended
Aspinal of London is set to undergo a restructure after its creditors reportedly gave the green light for its CVA to go ahead.
According to Drapers, more than 75 per cent of the luxury retailer’s creditors voted in favour of its CVA proposal last week.
Aspinal of London trades from 10 stores across the UK, plus an online store and concessions with Harrods and Selfridges, and employs more than 300 workers.
READ MORE:
- Aspinal of London launches CVA proposal
- Aspinal of London in sale talks despite strong Christmas
- Aspinal of London posts double-digit growth over Christmas
It’s not exactly clear what the CVA would entail for the leather goods retailer, although they often involve store closures, rent renegotiations and/or job cuts.
Meanwhile, none of Aspinal of London’s 10 stores – all of which are located in city centre locations – have reopened after the coronavirus lockdown for non-essential retail was lifted in mid-June.
It follows reports in January that the retailer had drafted in KPMG advisers to review funding options, including a potential sale of the business.
When it launched its CVA proposal last month, Will Wright, a partner at KPMG, said Aspinal of London had been impacted by “reduced footfall across high street stores”.
He also said at the time that the CVA would give the retailer a “platform from which it can refocus its business on its core online and premium concessions channels, providing a solid and sustainable grounding for the future”.
For its the financial year ending March 2019, Aspinal of London’s losses doubled to £4.4 million and operation losses deepened to £4 million on the back of an 11 per cent year-on-year rise in turnover to £35 million.
However, over the last Christmas trading period it recorded strong 12 per cent sales growth.
Set up in 2001 by Iain Burton, Aspinal of London originally created handcrafted stationery for the Natural History Museum, before going on to sell high-quality leather goods such as handbags, wallets and other related accessories.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
