Centre for Fashion Enterprise Launches New Venture Capital Fund

 

The Centre for Fashion Enterprise (CFE), launched by London College of Fashion in 2003, has announced an innovative Fashion Enterprise Fund and has enlisted the support of two respected fashion leaders – Jane Shepherdson and Harold Tillman. They will also be joined on the board by Lord Dennis Stevenson, Chairman of HBOS, and other industry luminaries. This committee will endeavour to raise several million pounds to fund young fashion entrepreneurs and guide them through the critical early years of their businesses.

 

Harold Tillman, Jane Shepherdson and Frances Corner

 

The new fund will further the CFE’s mission to raise London’s profile as a major international fashion capital, providing a unique private equity investment opportunity. It will make capital investments in selected London based fashion businesses that have out-grown the seed funding stage, providing backing and strategic support to assist them in developing and executing their international sales strategies by investing at a critical stage of a fashion brand’s growth.

 

This fund will be a second tier to the already successful incubator CFE which since its inception has helped launch names like Basso & Brooke, Marios Schwab (this year’s New Designer of the Year), Erdem and Manish Arora.

 

Tillman, Chairman of Jaeger and a graduate of London College of Fashion, last year started his own £1 million pound scholarship programme for students of LCF and said “Investors find it notoriously difficult to place a value on a young creative brand. This substantial venture capital Fund will be directed by those who understand the value. It’s incredibly important to support these emerging designers who often face huge pressure and are not able to support their incredible talent when they reach a crucial growth stage. London is a hotbed of creativity, but starved of funds leading to home-grown talent deciding to fly the nest. We will do all we can to prevent this.”

 

Jane Shepherdson who for almost twenty years was the Brand Director of Topshop feels “it is extremely important to help support new emerging talent”. She is delighted to be joining forces with Harold Tillman who masterminded and will be Chairing this scheme on the back of the established CFE, in order to give further opportunity to the College by enabling it to retain a share in the business as well as a return for the Fund’s investors. Of course Jane and Harold, as with the rest of the board, are giving their time in return for the benefits they have achieved through their own careers in fashion.

 

Dr Frances Corner, Head of London College of Fashion said “I am delighted to welcome the advice and input of two such respected industry names and know that their commitment and experience will enable us to take the CFE, and most importantly its designers, to new heights”.   

 

An experienced fund management team will be appointed to develop the Fashion Enterprise Fund, alongside the strategic direction of the Board and the sector and business growth expertise of the Centre for Fashion Enterprise at London College of Fashion. The Advisory Board will consist of specialists in Finance/Retail, Media, Finance/Brand Portfolio and Fashion Retail.

 

www.fashion-enterprise.com