Berwin buys Sir Philip Green’s stake in retail chain
SIMON BERWIN of suit manufacturer Berwin & Berwin has bought retail billionaire Sir Philip Green’s stake in Moss Bros to give him a 30% stake in the menswear chain.
The deal sees Bhs, Topshop and Miss Selfridge owner Sir Philip make a £1m profit two weeks after buying the shares and gives Mr Berwin a significant stake in his largest customer.
Mr Berwin, managing director of Leeds-based Berwin & Berwin, bought Sir Philip’s 28.5% stake for £7.7m backed by funds from a family trust provided by an unnamed wealthy investor.
On completing the deal sold some of the 4.28% of shares in Moss Bros he bought from the founding Gee family in June so he did not breach the 30% threshold that forces a company to declare a full takeover.
Mr Berwin said he does not plan to make a takeover bid for Moss Bros but does now expect to be invited to join the board of the historic menswear and formal hire chain.
He said that he was “devastated” after a deal to buy the shares from the struggling Icelandic group Baugur was pulled last month and Sir Philip stepped in.
Mr Berwin said that through a mutual contact he was able to speak to Sir Philip about the shares.
“He told me he had plans for Moss Bros and had his own suit supplier so was unlikely to need us. He gave me five minutes to tell him about us.
“He seemed very taken with the fact that we are a fourth generation business and 2,500 jobs would be under threat.”
Mr Berwin then met with Sir Philip at his London office on Friday and completed the deal. “It was tremendous, and to spend time with him on Friday was uplifting.”
Mr Berwin said that following the meeting Sir Philip has given him a “couple of projects” to work on involving suits for Topman.
“This is a defensive action. Moss needs some stability, it has had two years of Baugur hovering over it. For us this is a long-term move and we have the blessing of our other major customers. They need us to be strong because there aren’t many good suppliers left. I feel very happy for our business and for Moss Bros and feel we can bring a hell of a lot to the party,” added Mr Berwin.
Berwin & Berwin – which was founded in 1885 by Mr Berwin’s great grandfather Barnett Berwin, a Russian tailor – is the biggest supplier of suits to high street chain Next and the second largest supplier to Austin Reed. It supplies Ted Baker and makes suits under the Berwin & Berwin, Daniel Hechter, Pierre Cardin, Chester by Chester Barrie and Ben Sherman labels and last year launched a new menswear range with Paul Costelloe.
