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Maximising Recovery and Value for Trinity Group’s Fashion Brands

Trinity Group was a Hong Kong-listed retailer and licenser of high-end menswear brands across Asia and Europe, including heritage brands Gieves & Hawkes, Kent & Curwen and Cerruti 1881. The company fell into financial distress following the COVID-19 pandemic, defaulting on certain loans and receiving statutory demands for repayment. In December 2021, the Supreme Court of Bermuda appointed FTI Consulting as joint and several liquidators, replacing the original liquidators, to take control of the estate, assess options and sell the heritage brands to preserve value and maximise recoveries.

Our Impact

With guidance from FTI Consulting, Trinity Group was able to assess its financial position and complete the sale, ensuring a smooth transition of ownership and business continuity of the iconic fashion brands.
The long-term future of 250-year-old brand Gieves & Hawkes was secured through a going concern sale to Frasers Group.
The sale of Cerruti 1881 and Kent & Curwen, including the transfer of global trademark rights, preserved jobs and provided a platform for growth under new ownership.
Avoiding a break-up sale, these outcomes maximized expected creditor recoveries and protected brand equity and good will.
The Turnaround Atlas Awards awarded FTI Consulting with the Cross Border Distressed M&A Deal of the Year.

Our Role

FTI Consulting’s cross-border M&A experts from Hong Kong and the UK led a targeted marketing and sales campaign and engaged with more than 100 potential buyers globally, ultimately signing the sale and purchase agreement within four months of the auction.
We minimised business disruptions and value destruction by working closely with Trinity Group’s management to oversee day-to-day operations.
Our experts developed a multiple-track restructuring approach, including evaluating sustainability of standalone operations against overcoming deal issues in an asset sale, to explore best options amid the group’s financial distress.
We maximised valuation from multiple competing bids by managing a tight, highly competitive global sales process and creating tension among final bidders.
FTI Technology experts helped preserve devices and servers.
The team executed an orderly exit from more than 200 retail stores in Asia, reducing ongoing liabilities and operational risk.