All Saints chairman Kevin Stanford exits

Lion is understood to be negotiating a deal with Stanford to buy out his 15% stake in the fashion retailer, Sky News reported.

Stanford is understood to have left All Saints two weeks ago, after being suspended from his role as chairman at the start of the year.

Lion Capital invested £105m in All Saints alongside private equity firm Goode Partners last year, before the latter sold its stake.

As part of Lion’s investment deal, Stanford retained a 15% stake, with a potential for this to increase depending on All Saints’s performance. A meeting is now being scheduled between Lion and Stanford to thrash out a deal for his stake.

Stanford’s exit comes as new chief executive William Kim joins the business on October 15 from Burberry, where he was senior vice-president of retail and digital commerce.

All Saints former chief executive Stephen Craig left the business in September 2011 after reportedly clashing with Stanford over strategy.

Peter Wood has been acting as interim chief executive since that point and will now revert to his role as chief financial officer.

Lion and Goode’s investment of 76% of the business came after All Saints had suffered from over-expansion without the capital to support it. Kim has been appointed to guide a measured expansion strategy across a number of channels.