Baring Asia buys over UK fashion brand Cath Kidston, expansion on cards

Cath Kidston, the fashion brand famous for its floral patterns, is set for significant expansion in Asia after it was taken over by a Hong Kong-based investment firm.
Former Gucci supremo William Flanz has been appointed as chairman.
Cath Kidston said Baring, one of the largest private equity groups in Asia and already a big shareholder, has bought the remaining stake held by TA Associates, the U.S. private equity firm which sold half its 80 percent stake to Baring Asia in 2014.
Baring first invested in Cath Kidston two years ago when it acquired a 40 per cent stake in a deal that valued that company at around £250 million. The new deal, which involves Baring buying TA’s 40 per cent stake, is understood to value Cath Kidston at significantly more than £250 million. The two firms did not reveal the price of the latest deal.
Cath Kidston currently has 226 stores, with 70 percent located outside of Britain.
“We believe the Cath Kidston brand and business have great potential to grow across the globe, and are committed to delivering on that potential and securing the longer-term success of the company,” Flanz, a senior adviser to Baring Asia, said in a statement.
Cath Kidston founded the eponymous business with its first store in Holland Park, London, in 1993, and sold homewares and clothing made from vintage fabrics. Cath =still owns approximately 11 per cent of the business, although she stepped down as creative director in 2014.