Eton College uniform supplier gets cash injection from owners

A TAILOR to Eton College has received a near-£600,000 cash injection from its US private equity owners after it racked up losses during the pandemic.

New & Lingwood, which is one of several to provide uniforms for the school, posted a £760,000 loss in the year to January 2022, its latest accounts showed, broadly flat on the previous year.

Its owner, Pop Capital, provided £578,000 in funding and gave its commitment to support the company in the future.

The 158-year-old tailor says it has served “many thousands of Etonians, in many instances five or more generations of the same family”.

As well as selling uniforms to the college, New & Lingwood operates stores in Eton, London and New York, where it sells a range of upmarket clothes and shoes, including jackets for up to £1,295 and dressing gowns for as much as £3,500.

Freddie Briance, chief executive of New & Lingwood, said: “We do not comment on investors or their commitments to the company.

“Like all retail businesses, the pandemic was challenging. However, New & Lingwood traded steadily through the period and we were able to pivot to online retail sales, which was a positive outcome for us from that difficult time.

“Online sales have continued to grow alongside bricks-and-mortar sales since then. In recent months, trading has allowed us to open a second store in London. We are facing the same supply chain pressures as the rest of the industry but that has normalised now.”