Gieves & Hawkes bows to Chinese buyer

The royal tailor Gieves & Hawkes has been snapped up by a Chinese retail giant. The Savile Row-based tailor with a 240-year history of clothing princes and celebrities has been bought by a subsidiary of Li & Fung for £32.5m, plus additional payments of up to £60m depending on sales in China.

Li & Fung's Hong Kong-listed subsidiary Trinity owned the licence to sell Gieves & Hawkes in China, and has bought the company from owner Wing Tai. Trinity has been buying up menswear brands including Kent & Curwen and Cerruti 1881.

Li & Fung's clothing supply business counts Walmart and Marks & Spencer among its clients.

G&H suffered falling profits, and its chief executive, John Durnin, suddenly left the business last month.