End of the line for fashion supplier
04 October 2007 09:46
Lambert Howarth, the design‚ resourcing and distribution business supplier which holds the licences for French Connection, FCUK, Nicole Farhi and Lulu Guinness has gone into administration.
In July the company announced that, due to "unforeseen circumstances", it was unable to proceed with its proposed fundraising programme which had been intended to shore up the company’s accounts after it slumped £62.7 million into the red last year. In a statement yesterday, Lambert Howarth revealed that the unforeseen circumstance referred to was that the company's largest customer had said that it was undertaking a review of its supplier base and was unable to confirm the continued levels of business to be placed with Lambert Howarth.
As a result of the uncertainty over future levels of business and the cancellation of the fundraising, Lambert Howarth was unable to publish its annual report and accounts for the year ended December 31st 2006. In September this year, the customer notified Lambert Howarth that its intention was to source the products supplied by Lambert Howarth from different channels, which could include sourcing directly from some of the company's own manufacturers. In a statement, the company said: "Having received clarification on certain outstanding issues from its major customer and having considered all other possible courses of action, the board has now concluded that it would be in the best interests of the creditors of the company for an administrator to be appointed".
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