Gordon Brothers buys Radley brand in pre-pack administration

Radley + Co. Limited, the British handbag and accessories brand, entered administration on 26 May 2026, with Lindsay Hallam, Christopher Bennett and Matthew Boyd Callaghan of FTI Consulting appointed as joint administrators. The appointment was followed by a pre-pack sale of the Radley brand and related intellectual property to Gordon Brothers, the Boston-headquartered asset specialist and owner of Poundland.

The transaction preserves the core brand assets of the London handbag business, but does not include Radley’s UK retail operations. The store estate comprises 21 outlets across the UK, and the deal is expected to result in 42 job losses as the physical retail business is wound down.

Radley sells handbags, accessories and luggage and is known for its Scottie dog branding. The business had been owned by private equity firm Freshstream since 2016 and had been marketed for sale earlier this year as trading pressures intensified across the premium retail sector.

The administration followed a prolonged period of difficult retail trading, with declining customer demand and rising operating costs weighing on performance. Radley reported a pre-tax loss of £5.5 million for the year ended 26 April 2025, widening from a £1.7 million loss the year before, while turnover fell from £72 million to £65.8 million.

For Gordon Brothers, the deal adds another distressed consumer brand to a portfolio that has included Laura Ashley and Poundland.