Thomas Pink snapped up by former JD chief
A FORMER JD Sports executive has made an audacious swoop on upmarket shirtmaker Thomas Pink after the business ceased trading shortly before Christmas, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Nick Preston, who has also worked at Harvey Nichols and House of Fraser, has brokered a deal to take control of the business from the French luxury goods giant LVMH, which also owns Louis Vuitton.
The deal is understood to include the intellectual property of the brand but not its website or shops.
A new website is being prepared to relaunch the label and a company called Thomas Pink Shirtmaker has been registered in the state of Delaware, America.
Sources said last night the deal has been backed by a South American investor, which is unconfirmed.
A separate unconfirmed rumour suggested Mexican department store El Palacio de Hierro, which translates as The Iron Palace, may have backed the deal.
One source said a number of bidders made offers late last year but early discussions centred on ‘unrealistically high’ valuations.
LVMH, which bought Thomas Pink for about £45 million from Irish brothers John, James and Peter Mullen, declined to comment. Preston also declined to comment on the matter.
Thomas Pink was once a soughtafter brand in the City. But sales have fallen as office workers wear less formal clothes and the firm has been badly hit by workplace closures during the Covid lockdown.
It is understood the private equity firm Go Global and Hawes & Curtis owner Touker Suleyman also considered buying the brand rights.