Register to get free articles
Want unlimited access? View Plans
Already have an account? Sign in
Quantuma has completed the sale for La Perla in a move that has saved 200 jobs.
Andrew Watling and Duncan Beat, joint liquidators of Italian lingerie brand La Perla Global Management (UK) Limited (La Perla), confirmed the completion of the sale of La Perla to La Perla Atelier.
The sale comes after nearly two years of a coordinated effort between officeholders in both the UK and Italy, and using a “landmark” cross-border insolvency protocol.
The sale was a result of a number of separate transactions, dealing with assets in three different insolvency procedures. According to Quantuma, it enabled a resumption of production at the brand’s main production plant in Bologna and has preserved around 200 jobs in Italy.
The agreement was the first such protocol signed between an EU country and the UK post-Brexit.
The transfer of the La Perla Group’s assets to La Perla Atelier, a company controlled by American Peter Kern, was finalised on 30 September 2025.
A competitive sale process under Italian law ended in May 2025, with a number of interested parties taking part in the bidding, which saw Kern emerge as the successful bidder.
The joint liquidators were assisted on the Italian law issues by CBA Studio Legale e Tributario, with a team led by partner Antonio Martini and associate Alessandro Botti.
Shoosmiths LLP led the English law aspects, including the application for the implementation of the EU Cross-Border Insolvency: Court-To-Court Cooperation Principles, with a team led by partner Lee Sennett and principal associate Harry Rose.
Andrew Watling, Quantuma managing director and joint liquidator, said: “We are extremely pleased to have achieved such a positive outcome, which preserves 200 jobs and will provide continuity for this famous Italian brand. The UK insolvency legislation allowed us to adapt to the requirements of the Italian code and how that governs our Italian colleagues’ activities.
“The concept of a cross-border protocol is by no means a new one, but the circumstances in this case are unique and required all of the officeholders and their advisors to collaborate to achieve a better outcome for all. This highly desirable outcome demonstrates the power of combining collaboration and determination as the most efficient way for tackling cross-border insolvency and parallel insolvency proceedings of this type.”
He added: “The inception and delivery of the protocol was reached in less than a year from the commencement of the Italian insolvency procedures, and this is undoubtedly down in no small part to the efforts of my Quantuma colleague Andrea Angelo Terraneo, who is not only an experienced insolvency professional in the UK, but also a qualified Italian lawyer and expert in insolvency law (University of Milan-Bicocca, Italy).
“I am, of course, delighted that the brand will survive and that we have helped to save so many jobs, although sadly, other jobs across the group were not able to be saved. This case will possibly remain unique. It has been an education, not only in Italian insolvency law and procedures, but it has also provided an opportunity for us to collaborate with advisers in a number of other jurisdictions, due to the global nature of the brand.”
