Jack Wills receives £10m cash injection from new Italian investor

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Nov 26, 2018

Jack Wills is believed to have received a £10m boost from an Italian investor to see it through the high street crisis hitting the UK this year.

The investment came from an Italian family office which is an investor in Jack Wills’ majority shareholder BlueGem Capital Partners. The sum was provided in the form of a debt instrument,  Sky News reported.

BlueGem also agreed to invest a similar sum in the clothing business, after appointing Suzanne Harlow as new chief executive following a dispute with the brand’s founder and former CEO Peter Williams.

The newspaper said the Italian investor stepped in after Searchlight Capital Partners, the private equity firm which owns Hunter, withdrew from talks.

Jack Wills has opened several shops in recent months, however things are not running as smoothly in the boardroom. Harlow is replacing Williams as chief executive, and retail expert Rob Templeman, who was once CEO of Debenhams, has been brought in to advise on a turnaround plan.

Additionally, the brand is being sued by Superdry for allegedly copying a padded jacket design.