ALICE TEMPERLEY: £9 MILLION LOSSES
THE bohemian British brand is a favourite of Kate’s — for everything from casual days out (the embroidered blouse she sported on her 2011 Canadian tour) to formal occasions (the green lace gown she wore to a London gala in March 2017).
She chose Temperley London, founded by 43-year-old Alice — dubbed the ‘English Ralph Lauren’ — for a post-engagement outing to Wimbledon in June 2011, and again in 2014, when she wore a daring black cut-out number to a London charity event. Both times the garments, which can cost up to £5,000, sold out overnight, with fans flocking to the website.
In a 2013 interview, Alice, who said she received no prior warning when Kate was about to step out in one of her creations, described The Duchess as ‘the perfect modern-day woman’. With Carole and Pippa both also Temperley fans — not to mention a host of celebrity devotees including Beyoncé, Emma Watson and Heidi Klum — it seemed its future was secure. But beneath the surface cracks were beginning to form.
In 2016, reports showed losses of more than £9 million over five years. In both 2011 and 2012, Temperley Holdings lost more than £1 million, followed by pre-tax losses of over £5.8 million in 2013.
In 2014, the company posted losses of £2.8 million, with auditors warning of ‘material uncertainty’ over the brand’s future. Well-connected Alice secured a £1.8 million bail-out from 20 wealthy friends to stop the business going under. And in January it was reported that things may be turning round with growth almost doubled to 9 per cent.
OTHER WOES: Alice’s business troubles coincided with the breakdown of her marriage to German financier Lars von Bennigsen, whom she married in 2002. The pair, who have an eight-year-old son, Fox, separated in 2011.
She put Cricket Court, her beloved listed Somerset mansion and the venue of her extravagant summer parties, on the market in 2016, slashing the price by £250,000 to £2 million after it failed to sell.
‘Temperley London’s business continues to develop strongly on the back of a newly focused strategy.’