Victoria Beckham owed £350,000 by Harvey Nichols

Victoria Beckham, the celebrity fashion designer and TV personality, is reportedly owed £350,000 by luxury department store Harvey Nichols. This figure is based on Companies House filings, which reveal that Beckham was owed £353,349 by the department store chain when it entered administration. Since then, Harvey Nichols has been sold for £43.3 million to retail conglomerate Frasers Group.

However, administrators warn that creditors can only expect to recover 15 percent of the £270.5 million owed, which comprises loans from high-end suppliers such as Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, and Versace. Other significant debtors include Canada Goose, Max Mara, Chloé, and Coach. The administrators, FTI, stated that Harvey Nichols had been facing significant financial troubles for years, citing factors like the Covid-19 pandemic, increased e-commerce competition, and the decline of the British high street.

The collapse of Harvey Nichols also saw a sharp drop in visits from wealthy Asian and Middle Eastern tourists as London's VAT-free shopping regime ended in January 2021. Victoria Beckham's fashion label was a crucial supplier to the department store, and the company's website describes her designs as "some of the most desirable and copied on the catwalk."

Despite the setback, Victoria Beckham's brand recently posted a profit for the first time, with revenue increasing by 15 percent to £130 million and a pre-tax profit of £3.4 million in the year to December.