LK Bennett owner to receive £3m in fees from administrators after £4m acquisition

After paying £4 million for LK Bennett’s global brand and intellectual property in January 2026, the brand's new owners, US-based investment firm Gordon Brothers, are expected to collect around £3 million from the administrators in consulting and stock-clearance fees.

Gordon Brothers acquired LK Bennett in January, after the brand entered administration for the second time in six years, but excluded its nine standalone stores and 13 concessions.

Following the acquisition, the investment firm is now expected to bill administrators Alvarez & Marsal roughly £3 million in fees, which would equate to 75% of the acquisition price, according to the joint administrators’ first progress report covering 26 January to 26 July, filed with Harmon Realisations Limited, formerly LK Bennett Fashion, on Companies House.

The fee covers Gordon Brothers' work consulting on the administration process and running the "trade-out strategy", which typically includes running the closing-down sales and stock clearance. Specifically, filings show that the fee covers consultant costs, a fixed percentage of the retail value of stock sold, and a "profit share of stock realisations after costs are deducted". Administrators calculated that this would amount to £3 million in fees to be paid out.

The filing also showed that Alvarez & Marsal calculated that their own expenses add up to £2.1 million for conducting LK Bennett’s insolvency, including £1.6 million in time costs, representing 3,103 hours of work at an average rate of £524 an hour for its staff.

Once paid, Gordon Brothers' fee is set to directly reduce the reported £5,146,001 trading surplus, which refers to sales revenue. The administrators' own remuneration, still subject to creditor approval, is drawn more broadly from the wider pool of realised assets across the administration.

Both fees rank ahead of what's left for the company's wider creditors. These include secured creditor Secure Trust Bank, which already received full repayment of the £600,000 it was owed, and HMRC, which holds secondary preferential creditor status and has lodged a £1,051,235 claim, which administrators expect to pay out in full.

The second-ranking secured creditor – LK Bennett's previous parent company, Ying Ling Kam Trading Company Limited, which bought the brand out of administration in 2019 – has so far received £10,075 against a £15.2 million claim.

Unsecured creditors owed £34 million 

LK Bennett's unsecured creditors, which include suppliers and landlords, are owed an additional £34 million, earlier filings from Companies House had revealed, and are expected to receive only "a dividend by virtue of the prescribed part only".

As unsecured creditors are not the first in line to receive payouts, it is common for debts to be written off and absorbed.

Gordon Brothers pursues asset-light strategy

Gordon Brothers had announced that following its acquisition, it would focus on transitioning LK Bennett to an asset-light model, as it had with the successful revitalisation and expansion of the Laura Ashley brand globally. It said that it would also invest in product development and marketing for its portfolio of brands.

In May, Gordon Brothers also acquired the brand and related intellectual property of British handbag brand Radley, leading to the closure of its retail estate, including 21 UK stores. The investment company also purchased Poundland for £1 last year but has since launched a sale process for the discount chain, with hopes to sell the business within weeks.

Since 2003, Gordon Brothers has invested in and partnered with several fashion and lifestyle brands, including Nicole Miller, Rachel Zoe, Chinese Laundry, Laura Ashley, Telefunken and Broyhill. The company said its strategy centres on licensing, strengthening wholesale and retail partnerships, and investing in product development and marketing to support growth.

LK Bennett, best known for its limited-edition ready-to-wear collections, signature shoes, bags and accessories, filed its intention to appoint administrators in January after failing to find a buyer, with NEXT previously among the mooted suitors.

Founded in the 1990s by Linda Bennett, LK Bennett, once a firm favourite of the Duchess of Cambridge, started with a single boutique in Wimbledon. Pre-administration, the brand employed about 280 staff.