Accountants appointed to support relaunch of Manchester fashion icon

Cowgills have been appointed by British-based sailing & menswear clothing specialist Henri Lloyd Group and its subsidiary company Henri Lloyd UK, to provide a range of business support services, following a recent restructure of the business.

The firm will be working with Henri Lloyd, official performance clothing supplier to Team Ineos UK led by Sir Ben Ainslie, in the run up to the 36th America’s Cup in Auckland 2021.

Cowgills were initially appointed to provide outsourced financial support and audit services.

In addition to this, project-based corporate taxation advisory services were provided to the business during a period of complex corporate restructuring.

The team is working closely with Patrik Simonson, the newly-appointed chief financial officer of the global Henri Lloyd business, who has been heavily involved in the initial set up of a newly-formed UK group, alongside Graham Allen, head of Henri Lloyd UK.

Alex Hesketh, head of international at Cowgills, said: “Henri Lloyd is a strong British brand and we are delighted to be able to support the team as they emerge following the restructure.

Alex Hesketh

“It’s been a truly international effort to ensure the brand has a prosperous future, with investment coming from a group of Swedish investors led by Hans Eckerstrom.”

Graham Allen said: “Cowgills are one of the few regional accountancy firms to offer a bespoke international advisory service and their support has been invaluable through this period of change.

“Not only have they provided a solid service in respect of the day-to-day matters, but the tax implications of the restructuring process were complex and both Alex’s and the team’s specialist advice has helped us enormously, as we focus on positioning Henri Lloyd as one of the leading premium clothing brands.”

Originally established in Manchester in 1963, Henri Lloyd has offices at 1 St Peter’s Square.

The brand will be relaunching its global online presence later in 2019 and currently operates five stores nationwide in Salcombe, Cowes, Dartmouth, Lymington and Cheshire Oaks.

Henri Lloyd was bought in a pre-pack administration by Aligro UK, a subsidiary of Swedish firm Aligro Group, last June.

Magnus Liljeblad was appointed chief executive of Henri Lloyd, which is now headquartered in Gothenburg.

Liljeblad announced plans to move the brand upmarket and impose a renewed focus on quality and its sailing heritage.

In the 1990s Henri Lloyd was a favourite of Manchester rock band Oasis.

Although wholesale prices are yet to be finalised, they are expected to rise by between 25% and 30% compared with previous collections.

“After the administration we had the opportunity to start again,” Liljeblad told fashion and retail magazine Drapers.

“We re-assessed the quality and price of our products. We are focusing on getting back to our strengths in sailing gear, then building our fashion credentials.”

Before going into administration Henri Lloyd had 120 UK stockists.

Liljeblad told Drapers that around 70% of them would no longer be suitable and was looking for around 50 good-quality UK independents for “optimum representation”.

“We are looking for high-quality retailers, to give us a more focused distribution in future,” he said.

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