Aquascutum shutters UK factory

A spokesperson for restructuring firm FRP Advisory LLP said the decision to shut the factory followed a thorough review of Aquascutum’s financial position. The review deemed the plant no longer viable due to its ‘loss-making operations and a lack of funding.’

All 115 staff at the Northamptonshire factory have been made redundant as a result of the closure.

‘Whilst a difficult decision, [the closure] has been necessary in order to stem on-going losses for the business, and to protect the positions of the 135 remaining employees,’ FRP Advisory stated. ‘We plan to provide appropriate assistance to all affected employees’.

The administrators are actively seeking new owners for the 160-year-old brand.

‘We have received a high level of interest from potential purchasers from around the world, with our focus now upon progressing discussions for a sale of the Aquascutum brand and assets,’ FRP added.

Aquascutum was founded in 1851 and takes credit for designing the original trench coat (so does Burberry, founded in 1856). So central is the classic mac to the company’s identity that its name derives from the combination of the Latin words for ‘water’ and ‘shield’.

British soldiers wore Aquascutum coats in the Crimean war in 1853-56. In the 1950s and ‘60s, silver screen stars including Greta Garbo, Sophia Loren and Humphrey Bogart wore Aquascutum trenches. Later, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher drew style plaudits for her Aquascutum suiting.

In 2009, Jaeger owner Harold Tillman acquired Aquascutum from its Japanese owners. Tillman and Jaeger CEO Belinda Earl saw opportunities to achieve streamline production by joining the two luxury brands.

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