Lewis Trust Group Ltd
The Lewis Trust Group (LTG) is a family affair, albeit less so than of yore, but the family is still very much involved, with at least 6 Lewises working in the business. LTG is an investment holding company, operating retail stores, real estate, a wealth management company, and a large property portfolio. The company has 350+ River Island retail stores, while its Cavendish Asset Management arm caters to a more mature, wealthier crowd. The real estate unit has property development and investment operations mostly in the UK and the USA. Lewis Trust Group's hotel operation comprises 12+ hotels in Europe, Israel, the USA, Thailand, etc.Hoovers
Eleven family members, an Israeli company, and various offshore tax haven companies own stakes of between 3% - 18% in the business. ref The vast majority of the Lewis Trust Group's dividends are paid to L51N Ltd, whose immediate parent company is LFH International - registered in the Cayman Islands.ref, 2011
River Island
River Island is a high street fashion brand, which operates in a number of worldwide markets. River Island is a private company owned by the exceedingly low-profile Lewis family,ref and is headquartered in London. CH
Cavendish Asset Management Ltd
Cavendish Asset Management is an asset management arm of the Lewis Trust Group. The firm primarily provides its services to high net worth individuals and financial institutions. The firm invests in the public equity, fixed income, and currency markets across the globe.ref Cavendish Asset Management is based in London, and is wholly-owned by The Lewis Trust Group.CH
Blue Coast Capital Ltd
BCC was launched in May.2019, and brings UK & European Investments Ltd and LTG Capital together under one brand. The Blue Coast team sources, owns and operates a diverse portfolio of private and public assets from its headquarters in London with offices in Europe and the USA. The firm has holdings in a number of iconic UK brands, such as Global Fashion Group, the Hut Group, Zumba Fitness, Important Studios (South Park), Leaseplan, Domino's Pizza, Everyman Cinemas, and Mint Velvet. It also has interests in property development in Shoreditch.ref
Company
Ownership
Structure
- LFH International Ltd,ref reg. Cayman Islands
- River Island Global Holdings Ltd, CH, OC, reg. Jersey
- L51N Ltd, holdco for hotels, property, investments, prev. IP was Lewis Trust Holdings Ltd, CH
- Blue Coast Private Equity LP, investment fund, CH
- Lewis Trust Group Ltd, CH
- Cavendish Asset Management Ltd, group fund manager, CH
- Lewis Trust Group (Ireland) Ltd, investment company, OC
- Lewis Trust Group (Luxembourg) Sarl, holdco, OC, reg. Luxembourg
- Blue Coast Capital Properties Ltd, was UK & European Investments Ltd, property holdco, [CH]
- Blue Coast Capital Ltd, CH
- Avenue Asset Management LLP
- Avenue Asset Partners LP, partner to AAM LLP, CH
- CCB Trustees Ltd, investment company, [CH]
- LFS Access Ltd, investment company, [CH]
- BCC Investments Ltd, was LTG International Ltd, investment company, [CH]
- Sure-Wings Ltd, aircraft operator/agent, [CH]
- Westmark Walendow 2 Sp Zoo, property development, OC, reg. Poland
- Westmark Polska, holdco, OC, reg. Poland
- many, many more
Timeline
- May.2019: Blue Coast Capital Ltd: UK & European Investments Ltd and LTG Capital were brought together under one new brand.ref
- 1996: Consolidated Credits Bank: 10 members of the Lewis family bought £59m worth of debts for £859,650, and sold the old debts for a decent profit.CH, ref
- 1993: River Island expanded into the Republic of Ireland, and subsequently into Europe, Russia, Poland, and the Middle East.
- 1991: Concept Man and Chelsea Girl shops were all rebranded as River Island.
- Apr.1989: Cavendish Asset Management Ltd was established.
- 1988: River Island was launched.
- 1982: Concept Man: the first menswear store was launched.
- 1977: Godfrey and Geoffrey left the business.
- Dec.1978: Lewis Trust Group: Bernard, his older brother David, and his younger brothers Geoffrey and Godfrey, created the Lewis Trust Group. Under the LTG, David ran the other businesses covering hotels, property and investments, leaving Bernard free to run the retail operation.
- 1965: Chelsea Girl: Lewis Separates had grown to a 70-store empire, and a new identity was needed. The name "Chelsea Girl" was chosen because at the time the King's Road in Chelsea was the hub of fashion, music and popular culture.ref
- 1955: Lewis Separates has 9 stores.
- 1948: Lewis Separates: Bernard and his brothers David, Godfrey and Geoffrey, opened a womenswear shop in Mare Street, Hackney, East London, which went on to expand to 9 stores.
- ?date?: The Wool Shop: Bernard upgraded, adding knitting wool to his wares on another bomb site in Holloway. Textiles soon won out over fruit & veg.
- 1946: Fruit + Veg: Bernard Lewis started selling fruit and vegetables from a corrugated iron shed on a bombed-out site on Holloway Road, North London.
Articles
- May.17.2018: Rich List billionaires highlight growing inequality in Britain and should not be celebrated. This parade of the prosperous should not be a cause of celebration but a wake-up call for anyone who cares about the fabric of our society. While the rest of us are living through the longest wage squeeze since the Napoleonic era and 14 million are in relative poverty, the annual table shows how the very wealthy are getting wealthier. According to the Equality Trust, the top 1,000 are worth £724bn, up £66bn on 2017 and £274bn on 2013. Charlene De Carvalho-Heineken (Heineken), Barclay Brothers, Stelios Haji-Ioannou (EasyJet), Richard Branson (Virgin). Thomas Morris (Home Bargains). Mike Ashley (Sports Direct), River Island owner Bernard Lewis. In the '50s, bosses earned 20 times more than the average worker. Now it is 156 times more. According to the IPPR think-tank, 30-40% of all the wealth of the 0.01% richest households in the UK is held offshore. We could have higher taxation, as Labour has proposed, for the top 5%. George Osborne’s tax breaks for hedge funds, costing £145m a year, could be reversed. So could his cuts to inheritance tax, which benefit just 35,000 of the richest households. More could be done to close tax havens. And we should look at pay ratios. Jason Beattie, The Mirror.