Nicole Farhi’s debts were almost £20m at collapse, administrator reports

Nicole Farhi owed £15.7m to owner Kelso Place Asset Management, more than £500,000 to the taxman and £2.9m to unsecured creditors, The Telegraph reported.

HMRC is one of the unsecured creditors alongside model agencies such as Storm Model Management, which represents Cara Delevingne.

Matalan heiress Maxine Hargreaves-Adams’ purchase of the business was worth £5.4m and was one of six offers for the business, it has emerged.

The purchase included Nicole Farhi’s flagship store on London’s Conduit Street, as well as its head office, three standalone stores and two outlet stores.

Administrator Zolfo Cooper was appointed last month after the 31-year-old retailer suffered “sustained losses” and the report said the business needed “significant further funds” to be able to stock its autumn and winter collection.

Hargreaves-Adams has also bought womenswear brand Fenn Wright Manson and invested in Damsel in a Dress in the last year.