Alice Temperley runs up £1.9m more losses

ONE of the Duchess of Cambridge’s favourite dress designers, Alice Temperley, has seen her company run up further losses of nearly £2 million.

The firm has also been forced to issue a warning of ‘material uncertainty’ about its group’s future in its latest accounts. Temperley Holdings’ results for 2016 show that the group has run up losses of more than £19 million since it was set up in 2009.

Temperley, 42, has won a legion of famous clients drawn to her bohemian flowing frocks, which can cost more than £2,000 apiece. Its brand Temperley London is distributed in more than 30 countries. But the business has been beset by financial problems and the latest accounts show that in 2017 it turned to existing shareholders for an additional £1.7 million injection as well as obtaining an £870,000 short-term loan.

Auditors RSM posted a warning of ‘a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt about the group’s…ability to continue as a going concern’.

The loss of £1.9 million for 2016 is down from £3.6 million in 2015, with turnover up to £11.7 million from £11.1 million. The firm must repay debentures next year. But Temperley has the backing of shareholders. The accounts say it ‘now has the right operational structure, personnel and trading plans in place to leverage the brand’s popularity and drive growth.’

Preliminary results for 2017 show revenue growth of 9 per cent and a further 82 per cent fall in losses.