Laura Ashley bought by US owner of Ben Sherman | Laura Ashley

Laura Ashley has been acquired by New York-based Marquee Brands, owner of 17 businesses including Ben Sherman and Martha Stewart.

The clothing and furniture brand, best known for its floral tassels, was sold by Gordon Brothers.

Gordon Brothers has owned Laura Ashley since 2020, with a US specialty in restructuring He bought the business from management after it was done the first major case of the covid pandemic.

The company, which has no stores of its own, made a return to the high street the following year through a deal with Next.

Laura Ashley also deals locally with DFS and John Lewis in the UK, and is available in 150 stores globally through a network of overseas licencees.

An agreement with Marquee Brands in Laura Ashley’s UK-based team, which they run through Poppy Marshall-Lawtonretaining and opening the US company’s first European headquarters in London.

Heath Golden, chief executive of Marquee Brands, said: “With the existing UK team in place, we are ready and prepared to leverage Laura Ashley’s seven-decade legacy to unlock its future potential as a full lifestyle brand by innovating new products and categories.

“Laura Ashley’s licensed business model and robust group of high-quality partners make the brand a seamless addition.”

The company was founded on Laura and Bernard Ashley’s kitchen table in 1953, starting as a supplier of affordable country-inspired tableware, such as carved heads and maps.

In the 1970s as if he had refined himself in a certain wayher floppy floral attitude into a playful mainstream version of hippy culture.

At the time of Laura’s death from a cerebral haemorrhage in 1985, the brand had 220 stores globally and the Sloane Ranger staple, led by Diana, Prince of Wales.

During the recession, the company built up its domestic operation, which accounted for 80% of its business at the time of the crash.

However, by mid-2010, sales and profits began a spiral of decline, putting Laura Ashley on the brink of collapse even before the pandemic closed all its UK stores.

Before going into administration, Laura Ashley had been listed in London but was controlled by the Malaysian group MUI.