Asprey & Garrard persists

British jeweller and retailer Asprey and Garrard are rolling out their business with the help of new investors. After six weeks of "technical administration" the company was given a second chance by New York based private equity firm Sciens Capital and hedge fund Plainfield Asset Management. The two parties have agreed to commit $80-$100 million in the troubled chain's expansion.

Warner Music chief executive Edgar Bronfman Jr and three other investors have however lost their investment of almost $500 million in the luxury retailer. The other shareholders are Sportswear Holdings with a 40 percent stake, Morgan Stanley Private Equity with a 20 percent share and TAG Group, the holding company of the Ojjeh family, with 8 percent. Bronfman had a 32 percent with his SBS Partners.

The new A&G has had to pay off its debts, which banker HSBC told the FT have been repaid "close to par". It also had to exit its remaining 17 year lease on its Fifth Avenue flagship, owned by Donald Trump. Chief executive Gianluca Brozetti said the investment in the New York flagship was "too big, too soon".