Burberry - Acquisition of stores and related assets in China

List of all recent work 

Slaughter and May, Hong Kong and London, is advising Burberry, the global luxury company, on an agreement to acquire the stores and related assets in China currently operated by its long-standing franchisees, for approximately £70 million in cash.

Under the agreement, Burberry expects to acquire the assets and inventory of 50 stores in China. These were previously operated under a master franchise arrangement and reported as wholesale revenue for Burberry. The stores are located in 30 cities in China, including nine stores in Beijing and four in Shanghai.

This transaction, which was announced on 16 July, is in line with Burberry's strategy of unifying the brand around the world, while at the same time increasing its exposure to retail and to high growth luxury markets.

Hong Kong: Neil Hyman (partner), Marie Bates (associate), Ed Fife (associate)

London: Robert Chaplin (partner)