Dawson International Sells Ballantyne to Italian Investors for £14.5m

Dawson International, a Scottish cashmere company, has sold its prized Ballantyne brand to Italian investors for £14.5m. The luxury knitwear brand, which includes its Scottish factory and international distributorships, will be bought by a group of Italian entrepreneurs led by Alfredo Canessa, Ballantyne's chairman. This sale marks the latest in a series of restructuring efforts by Mike Hartley, who took over as executive chairman last year, aimed at addressing the company's financial difficulties.

Key Takeaways:

• Dawson International has sold its Ballantyne brand to Italian investors for £14.5m, marking a significant loss for the company.
• The sale includes Ballantyne's Scottish factory, Japanese distributor, and flagship stores in Milan, London, and Tokyo.
• Dawson shareholders must approve the sale at an extraordinary meeting on March 31.
• Dawson has made undisclosed losses last year on sales of £11.5m.
• The company is seeking £9m in debt facilities and pursuing a £6m loan stock issue to address its financial difficulties.
• Ballantyne's sale marks the second significant brand disposal by Dawson in recent years, following the sale of Pringle to the Fang Brothers of Hong Kong for £6.1m in 1998.

Statistics:

• Dawson International's pre-tax losses in September 1998: £9.5m (against £6.1m a year earlier)
• Ballantyne's sales in the last financial year: £11.5m
• Amount of debt facilities Dawson is seeking: £9m
• Amount of loan stock issue Dawson is pursuing: £6m
• Dawson International's share price: 13p (with a gain of 1/2p)

Sources:

• "Dawson sells luxury knit firm Ballantyne" (The Scotsman, London, 23-2-99)
• "Dawson International set to lose £10m" (Financial Times, London, 23-2-99)
• "Dawson International results" (Scottish Enterprise, Edinburgh, 1998)