AN ICONIC fashion brand could be sold after disappearing from the high street.
The owner of Cath Kidston is exploring a sale only eight months after it rescued the brand from administration, according to Sky News.
Hilco is said to be lining up PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to advise on a potential sale of the brand, known for its kitsch floral designs.
The holding company bought Cath Kidston just eight months ago.
It collapsed into administration in April 2020 with the closure of 60 UK stores and the loss of 908 jobs but is still trading online and across four UK stores.
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The brand was set up by designer Cath Kidston in 1993 and had more than 200 outlets around the world at its peak.
After initially being privately owned, Cath Kidston was sold to a private equity firm in 2010 in a deal reported to be worth £100million at the time.
Baring Private Equity became a substantial shareholders in 2014 and then went on to take control in 2016.
The brand, e-commerce and wholesale parts of the businesses were bought from administrators by Baring Private Equity Asia in 2020, before Hilco snapped it up earlier this year.
We've asked Hilco for comment and will update when we hear back.
The firm has previously rescued Homebase, HMV, Oasis and Warehouse from administration.
It comes a day after Subway announced that the food chain could be sold affecting thousands of locations.
The sandwich chain, which has 2,273 locations in the UK, said that shareholders were exploring the possibility of a sale but no plans have been made.
The company has closed more than 1,000 sites worldwide since 2021.
J.P. Morgan is advising the company and is conducting the sale exploration process.
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Shops have struggled to attract customers on the high street in recent years, and the pandemic saw shoppers move online.
Business consultancy Quantumahe warned that the number of shops going under could rise by 71% in 2023.
Two of the biggest high street retailers that folded in recent weeks include the clothing chain M&Co and stationary shop Paperchase.
M&Co a Scotland-based clothing chain fell into administration on December 11.
Yours Clothing purchased M&Co's intellectual property and brand but not 170 stores which are set to close with 1,910 jobs lost.
Paperchase collapsed into administration last month and Tesco purchased the stationery chain's brand days later.
But 106 of Paperchase branches are set to close for good and the website will shutdown on February 17.
