Escada shares up as funding secured

Escada has secured bank funding until the end of 2006, boosting investor confidence in the company, which is fighting flagging demand for its upmarket clothes. Shares in the German fashion house gained more than 6 per cent on news that its banks had agreed to maintain existing credit lines until the end of 2006.

Escada said that the banks would also guarantee redemption of its 100 million (£70 million) corporate bond issue, which matures next summer. The retailer has declined to give an outlook for this year after issuing a profit warning in June on the back of a slowing global economy and the impact of the SARS outbreak.