British men’s wear maker TM Lewin was sold to a lender after its second brush with bankruptcy in the past two years.
Petra Group purchased the 124-year-old shirt maker, administrators Will Wright and Chris Pole of Interpath Advisory confirmed Friday, after Marks & Spencer and Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group had also expressed in the maker of formal men’s attire.
“Following a great deal of interest, we’re pleased to have achieved this sale which secures the future of this famous British retail brand,” said Wright, who serves as Interpath’s head of restructuring. “We understand the new owners will be relaunching the online trading platform over the coming weeks and, in the longer term, are considering the possibility of opening new high street stores.”
One of the U.K’s most prominent names in tailoring and men’s wear, T.M. Lewin first went bankrupt in July 2020 as much of the world had shut down to combat Covid-19. SCP Private Equity acquired the company, and slashed jobs when it shed TM Lewin’s stores in a pivot to digital.
With relatively few office-bound men returning to the workplace and in need of a wardrobe refresh, the company found itself in administration, what Americans call bankruptcy, again last month. Men’s shoe maker Steptronic Ltd. similarly went bankrupt as well.