A group of former Jaeger suppliers has attacked the collapsed chain for selling its trademark prior to its administration.
The consortium, led by Calvelex boss Cesar Araujo, told Retail Week that owner Better Capital sold Jaeger’s most valuable asset, its name and heritage, before calling in administrators AlixPartners.
It added that it only discovered the sale when it approached AlixPartners about buying the retailer.
Araujo said: “We are very disappointed with this situation. We’re questioning the thinking behind selling the intellectual property of the Jaeger brand name before the company went into administration, as the value of the company to potential bidders would be greatly reduced.”
He explained that he now wanted to look into Better Capital’s management and sale of the retailer and would “not exclude the possibility of court action”.
Better Capital sold Jaeger’s debt at the end of March to a mystery buyer, widely assumed to be Philip Day’s Edinburgh Woollen Mill. It drafted in AlixPartners to handle the administration process in April after failing to “attract suitable offers”.
Better Capital boss Jon Moulton told the Guardian it had made “extensive efforts” to find a buyer and that prospective new owners “had a chance to bid in any format”.
He added: “The transaction was effectively to sell control of Jaeger, including its brand, and was done without insolvency. Any insolvency actions lie with the [Better Capital] fund’s successor.”
AlixPartners could not be reached for comment.
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