Esprit’s European business may soon be under the control of an international private equity group, which recently expressed interest in assisting the company in restructuring the said assets.

The potential investor is also keen to invest in Esprit through its strategic focus markets including the North American and Asian markets.

Esprit did not name the international private equity group but said it has a “strong track record”.

The potential partnership is still subject to the signing of a definitive agreement and the fashion retailer warns shareholders and potential investors to take caution when dealing with its securities.

Earlier, Esprit announced the insolvency filing of its Belgium subsidiary – Esprit Belgie Retail (BEBR) – as part of the ongoing comprehensive reorganisation.

It reported an annual net loss of HK$2.339 billion (US$300 million) following an “extremely difficult and distressing” year.