Pringle receives further investment

The wealthy foreign owners of Pringle of Scotland have pumped another £18m into the loss-making brand's continuing attempt to become a Burberry-style luxury label.

The latest accounts show the company has received injections of £10m and £8m from its owners, Hong Kong textile dynasty the Fang family, within the last two years. The sums are on top of the £5m ploughed in over the previous year.

The payments were revealed as Pringle reported a loss of £9.3m in the year to March 2009. Insiders said the fresh investment was seen as a show of faith in the revamp plans of chief executive Mary-Adair Macaire, who joined from Chanel in 2008. Sales were flat at £17.3m while gross margins climbed from 39 per cent to 43 per cent.