Jaeger saviour sells majority stake

Fashion entrepreneur Harold Tillman, pictured, has sold his majority stake in Jaeger, the business he saved from collapse nearly 10 years ago.
By The Newsroom
Published 17th Apr 2012, 07:00 BST

The 128-year-old chain, which has 50 standalone stores and 70 concessions within department stores, has been sold to Better Capital, a private equity firm owned by British venture capitalist Jon Moulton, for £19.5m.

Better Capital, which recently acquired double-glazing firm Everest for £25m, will take a 90 per cent stake but the majority of the cost went towards Jaeger’s secured debts.

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Jaeger, which was loss-making when it was acquired by Mr Tillman in 2003, reported £94m in revenues and £1m in operating profits in the year to February 2011.

It is the first high street name to be bought by turnaround-focused Better Capital, which was set up by Mr Moulton in 2009 after he left private equity firm Alchemy Partners.

Mr Tillman made his fortune in the rag trade, starting his career in the 1960s with wholesaler Lincroft Kilgour, where he later rose to managing director before floating it on the London Stock Exchange.