by OUR BUSINESS EDITOR
There was dismay and consternation in the Borders town of Hawick not to mention worldwide headlines back in the year 2000 when failing textile giant Dawson Holdings sold one of the biggest brand names in the fashion industry to a Hong Kong billionaire for what appeared to be a knockdown £6 million.
But a subsequent deal with a price tag of £10 million in which S C Fang & Sons divested themselves of the iconic Pringle of Scotland label after sinking tens of millions of pounds into the loss-making knitwear firm has passed virtually unnoticed.
Despite the best efforts of Not Just Sheep & Rugby to establish the background leading up to the transfer to new owners, Broadgate 1960 Company Ltd, and the prospects for Pringle's future, both buyer and seller remain tight-lipped.
Even Wikipedia, that internet fount of all knowledge, has yet to catch up with developments. The website gives the impression the Fang family retain ownership of Pringle's which was originally founded in Hawick as a hosiery business by James Pringle in 1815.
In the decades immediately after World War Two the company's massive mills provided work and wages for around 4,000 employees. The spectacular decline under Dawson management saw that number shrink to a few hundred despite Pringle's global reputation as the finest manufacturer of cashmere garments.
And the last published accounts while still under Fang ownership show the average number of employees in 2023 was just 15, down from 18 in 2022. The change of ownership shifted significant control of the brand from Douglas Fang to Dominican national Menoshi Shina who is now a Pringle's director alongside Sheila Marie Geraghty, an American. The pair sit on the boards of a number of textile businesses.
Broadgate's other subsidiaries include suit makers Moss Bros, BSI Apparel, Crew Clothing, and Saltrock Surfwear. Broadgate recorded group turnover of £121.8 million in 2022 with a profit after tax of £8.6 million. The group has 1,200 on its payroll while the ultimate parent company is New Wishes 2020 Ltd, a company incorporated in Gibraltar.
The only details concerning the Pringle's deal are tucked away in the respective annual accounts of the Fang and Broadgate businesses.
According to the Broadgate accounts: "The company purchased Pringle of Scotland apparel and retail operations. As part of the negotiations the company agreed to pay Pringle International Ltd [a parent business registered in the British Virgin Islands] £10 million for both the assignment of debt owed by the target company Pringle Enterprises Ltd.(PEL) and 100 per cent of the outstanding shares of PEL".
In 1999, the year before Dawson parted with the Pringle brand, the knitting business chalked up a loss of £11.1 million on sales of £33 million.
The loss-making continued under the tutelage of magnate Kenneth Fang who earned the nickname 'King of Textiles'. Mr Fang died in 2022.
A report in the business press in 2011 had this to say: "Kenneth Fang has pumped a further £10.9 million into the iconic Pringle of Scotland brand despite continuing losses. The investment, which takes the total pumped into the company by Fang over the last three years to almost £30m, came as it reported pre-tax losses of £7.25m in the year compared to £6.7m in the prior 44-week period.
"During the year, Fang invested £5m with a further £5.9m following the financial year end. Total losses since 2006 are now more than £36m and the company has said it expects to continue to remain in the red while it invests in the long-term development of the business."
Annual losses would continue with the most recent deficits £3.078 million in 2020 and £2.247 million the following year. However, a modest £15,000 profit was logged for 2022, and a much more impressive surplus of £733,000 just prior to the sale of the company.
We contacted S C Fang to ask why it had been decided to sell Pringle's after 23 years of ownership. At the time of publication there had been no response.
At the same time a series of questions together with a request for information was sent to Pringle's for their consideration.
We asked for the reasons behind Broadgate 1960's decision to proceed with the acquisition despite a long history of financial losses under the Fang regime, and was there confidence that Pringle of Scotland’s fortunes could be turned around
Other questions included: "Was the change in registered address from Edinburgh to the company’s native town of Hawick after Broadgate 1960’s acquisition of significance? Are there plans for investment in Pringle? Where is the manufacture of the top-of-the-range knitwear being carried out? The last accounts for Pringle of Scotland (2023) indicated a workforce of just 15 (down from 18 in 2022, and once around 4,000 in the 1960s). Are there any plans to expand that number of employees?"
We were told on April 9th our request had been passed to Pringle's holding company which now manages public relations and marketing. Further attempts were made to elicit a response but we have heard nothing further.
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