Agent Provocateur struggles to find a buyer

Agent Provocateur struggles to find a buyer

It has been reported that Agent Provocateur’s lender, Barclays, may end up taking control of the company as its owner 3i struggles to attract bids for the business that are higher than its £30 million debt.

In November 2016 the brand was rocked by revelations that 3i had discovered accounting issues. In subsequent months Agent Provocateur’s chairman, Chris Woodhouse, was replaced and approximately £39 million of the company’s value was written down. Accountancy firm KPMG has been hired to investigate the accounting irregularities.

Agent Provocateur was acquired by its private equity owner,3i, for £60 million from Joe Core (Dame Vivienne Westwood’s son) ten years ago. It is expected that Barclays will sell Agent Provocateur on quickly. Two other reported potential buyers are Alteri Investments and former Dragon’s Den judge Theo Paphitis.

3i attempted to sell Agent Provocateur three years ago but did not find a suitable buyer.

Agent Provocateur struggles to find a buyer