HgCapital mulls sale of Americana

The private-equity group HgCapital is believed to be considering a sale of Americana International, which owns popular fashion label Bench.

The group has called in the investment-banking group Rothschild to find a buyer, according to reports at the weekend. Any sale of Americana, which also owns the Hooch brand, would be expected to bring in about £250m. The company declined to comment yesterday.

The Manchester-based Americana was established in 1998, and developed a cult following in the UK. Hg bought the company in 2007 for £190m as a secondary buyout from its rival Isis Equity Partners. In its most recent accounts, HgCapital said Americana's turnover was £109.3m in 2009.