The Savile Row tailor which made the white tie outfits for Hugh Bonneville’s Lord Grantham character in Downton Abbey has been sold to a hedge fund tycoon and his designer partner.
Huntsman, which also counted Edward VII, Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Lawrence Olivier and Humphrey Bogart among its clients, is being taken over by Belgian-born financier Pierre Lagrange and Bond Street couture star Roubi L’Roubi.
The 163-year-old business, which has two mounted stag heads in its shop at 11 Savile Row, was sold by private investors who have owned the brand since 2005. The business, which has a joint venture with Alexander McQueen, is one of the biggest names in the famous tailoring street.
Mr L’Roubi, a British-born designer of Sudanese origin, has a background mainly in womenswear. His commissions include creating vestments for clergy at St Paul’s Cathedral.
The Imperial College mechanical engineering graduate will be creative director and co-owner of Huntsman and will work with the current team, which includes general manager Peter Smith and head cutter Patrick Murphy.
Mr L’Roubi, who recently worked with country pursuits outfitter Holland & Holland, says he will use his womenswear experience to expand Huntsman’s collections. His Mayfair couture business is expected to be merged with the Huntsman label.
Mr Lagrange is worth an estimated £120 million. He co-founded the GLG hedge fund, which was criticised for short-selling shares in Bradford & Bingley in 2008. He became a director of Mr L’Roubi’s company Asked For Designs in 2011.
He and his wife Catherine gave each other “divorce gifts” of Ferraris when he left her and their three children in 2010 before starting a relationship with Mr L’Roubi.
