Uk retailer All Saints has escaped the threat of martyrdom.
London-based Lion Capital — a key creditor to American Apparel and owner of lingerie brand La Senza — has swooped in to take 75 percent of All Saints, leading a rescue deal worth 105 million British pounds that will stave off a potential bankruptcy, according to people close to the deal.
New York-based Goode Partners, whose investments include the chic clothing boutique Intermix, as well as Bowlmor Lanes, will take 15 percent of All Saints, with an option to buy an additional 20 percent from Lion if it can scrape together the cash, according to a source.
The deal — which will also award debt-laden founder Kevin Stanford a 10-percent stake in the chain as well as continued creative influence — is “still being documented but seems to be all agreed,” according to a source briefed on the negotiations.
The deal includes a payment of more than 20 million British pounds to a pair of debt-ridden Icelandic banks, which invested in All Saints but have been unable to support the cash needs of the company after an aggressive growth spurt resulted in delayed payments to some vendors, sources said.
All Saints founder Stanford, whose Goth-inspired clothing designs command healthy prices at the retailer’s boutiques, is “wildly talented, but also loved to spend money,” signing too many leases in pricey locations, according to a source close to the company.
All Saints opened a flagship store on Lower Broadway in Soho last May, which generated $2 million in sales during its first two weeks of operation, according to reports. But performance since has “been on the soft side” of the company’s lofty projections, according to a source close to the company.
Unbowed by the company’s cash worries, Stanford last year had lobbied to open an All Saints store at 666 Fifth Ave., according to a real-estate source.