Ted Baker's US licence partner OSL is frontrunner to take over collapsed UK arm
OSL, which has operated Ted Baker's American business since last year, is in talks to take on its troubled UK and European operations just weeks after it collapsed into administration.
Ted Baker's American licensing partner is a front runner among businesses eyeing a Ted Baker acquisition, according to Sky News.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that Frasers Group and NEXT have also contacted administrators at Teneo Advisory to explore the potential purchase of Ted Baker’s collapsed arm. According to an insider, both conglomerates have less than six weeks to submit a bid and a buyer could be announced within the next three weeks.
On Monday, news broke that Teneo would close 11 UK stores, while landlords pulled the plug on four more. This will result in the loss of more than 200 jobs.
Ted Baker first faced trials and tribulations back in 2019 when its founder, Ray Kelvin, stepped down after accusations about his treatment of female employees. This, coupled with pandemic-related losses, caused the business to suffer. By 2020, the company was forced to cut hundreds of jobs and raise £100 million to rebalance its financials.
Authentic Brands Group acquired Ted Baker for £211 million in August 2022, leading to its delisting from the London Stock Exchange.
Following its usual mode of managing brands, Authentic then set about outsourcing key aspects of the business, from design to retail, to several partners. Dutch company AARC was appointed to run the UK and Europe retail and e-commerce business, but quickly ran into financial difficulty.
Authentic was obliged to step in and offer financial support, but it says AARC failed to provide further promised funding for the Ted Baker retail business and it was obliged to pull the plug on the partnership in February. It subsequently appointed Teneo to stabilise the business while it sought another retail partner.
Benji Dymant and Daniel Smith of Teneo Financial Advisory Limited have been managing the administration.
