South: Grant Thornton advises on sale of Rolling Luggage to Samsonite

Leading business adviser Grant Thornton and leading law firm Harrison Clark Rickerbys have recently acted for Rcapital, the owner of global travel retailer Rolling Luggage, on the sale of the business to Samsonite Inc, the world’s largest luggage manufacturer and retailer.

Rcapital, the London-based private investor that specialises in the turnaround of distressed businesses, rescued the Rolling Luggage chain out of the global restructuring of the Tie Rack Retail Group in 2013.

Rolling Luggage, with 37 stores in seven countries, was in need of both financial and operational restructuring when Rcapital bought the business and used its extensive turnaround skills to develop a thriving retail company, ultimately saving 350 jobs across the globe. The deal with Samsonite will allow the company to continue to build on its recent success and further accelerate its growth.

Richard Wilkey, corporate partner at Harrison Clark Rickerbys, commented: "This was a great outcome for Rolling Luggage and Rcapital. We have been on a 15-month voyage with the Rcapital team through investment, restructure, turnaround and now exit. The deal was truly international in nature and has spanned a multitude of complex issues, which the team at HCR has helped to resolve, while ensuring the deal progressed."

Duncan Lamb, advisory partner at Grant Thornton, stated: "Working closely with our client and HCR enabled the deal team to work seamlessly through a number of complex issues that arose during the transaction, which ultimately led to a fantastic result for the shareholders of the Rolling Luggage business."

Rcapital CEO Jamie Constable said: “We are thrilled with the outcome of the deal with Samsonite, which marks the end of a complex restructure and turnaround process.  The efforts and commitment from our advisers to get the deal done were exceptional and we are extremely pleased with the result. Rcapital was able to see the potential in the Rolling Luggage business, which has been validated by its sale to a major global player.”