LK Bennett, the upmarket womenswear brand once beloved by the Princess of Wales, is up for sale only six years after being rescued out of administration by Hong Kong-based investors.
A white knight investor is urgently being sought by City crisis experts from Alvarez & Marsal, in a move that has surprised observers with its timing during the peak Christmas trading period.
The brand was started in 1990 by Linda Bennett who used £13,000 of her own savings and a £15,000 bank loan to open her first shop in Wimbledon Village, southwest London. For decades, it occupied a golden niche in British fashion: more accessible than the luxury houses of Bond Street, but more aspirational than the average high street retailer.
The Princess of Wales has been known to be a fan of LK Bennett shoes
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Its status as a cultural staple was cemented by high-profile devotees such as the Princess of Wales, whose frequent use of the brand’s nude court shoes turned LK Bennett into a global symbol of polished, upper-middle-class elegance. It had 200 stores at its peak.
However, the late 2010s saw the brand’s “affordable luxury” promise begin to fray under the weight of a shifting retail landscape. After Bennett sold her majority stake in 2008, the company struggled to maintain its identity and fell into administration in 2019. Despite a desperate rescue attempt when Bennett herself returned to the helm, the brand was battered by soaring business rates, hefty rents, and a lack of distinctiveness compared to newer players such as Me+Em and The Fold.
It was eventually sold to its Chinese franchise partner, Byland UK, resulting in a leaner operation and the closure of dozens of stores.
In recent years, the recovery has been a rollercoaster of fleeting triumphs and fresh set-backs. While 2022 brought a post-pandemic surge in eventwear — fuelled by a backlog of weddings and Royal Ascot — the momentum proved short-lived. By 2024, the company was once again slipping into the red, reporting a pre-tax loss of nearly £3.2 million as the cost of living crisis and high inflation depressed consumer spending. It is thought to have just nine standalone stores and a number of concessions.
The boss of one competitor suggested changing trends in womenswear could have contributed to LK Bennett’s recent struggles. She said that since the pandemic women have tended to opt either for more casual, “versatile” dressing, or “big day, really impactful” outfits. She said that “middle” options between the two, so for example the tea dress for which LK Bennett is famous, is less popular. She also said an increase in women wearing flats rather than high-heeled shoes may have contributed, adding: “They had a huge business in really smart footwear but that’s a trend that’s also evolved. So where people might have had a wardrobe with ten pairs of LK Bennett, they probably can make do with one or two brilliant pairs of heels.”
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She added that the apparent slow speed to adapt to these changes, plus the departure of the brand’s founder, likely contributed to its demise. “To keep the true handwriting of a brand, it’s wonderful if the founder can stay involved. If you look at brands like The White Company, where Chrissie Rucker is still really involved, it continues to have that really strong brand positioning and to be really successful.”
LK Bennett’s most recent accounts filed at Companies House showed LK Bennett breached covenants on an asset-backed loan provided by Secure Trust Bank and warned it may do so again.
A&M declined to comment. LK Bennett was contacted for comment.