A DOUBLE whammy centring on the Asian market finally put paid to Ramsbottom designer's Henry Holland's fashion house, it has emerged.

The House of Holland, which he was established with fellow directors in 2007, lost a lucrative licensing deal with an unnamed Chinese outfit in late 2019, according to administrators.

And the volatility caused by the Hong Kong riots, one of their key trading areas, coupled with widespread industry pressures, caused the firm to go under with a deficit of £686,213, they have said.

Trade creditors were owed £966,000 when administrators stepped in at the House of Holland last March.

Before then company director loans of £410,000 had been forthcoming in 2017 and one of Holland's other outfits, Matey Ltd, which provided £90,000, of which £24,000 is still outstanding.

Two new investors purchased shares totalling £400,000 last October and Holland is said to have lent the firm personal funds.

Some of the most significant sums outstanding now are to directors Ana Karina De Paula Allen and Janka Vazanova, at £241,338 and £244,800 respectively.

But several modelling agencies, studios and fashion firms are owed money - Speedo International has a claim for £20,183 and a Portuguese textiles company, AAC, is said to be owed £87,993.

In a statement of affairs, administrators Will Wright and Steve Absolom confirm that they continued to trade the company for two weeks after their appointment, in the hope of selling it off as a going concern.

But they said: "Covid-19 and the government's lockdown measures are having a significant adverse impact on our abilities to realise assets and the timescales to do so, as there is very limited market appetite for retail assets at the present time."

The pair say that whether there will be funds, for secured creditors including Bibby (£83,000) and Lloyds Bank, and unsecured creditors remains "uncertain".

Stock worth £120,000 was left in the House of Holland warehouse - but a proposed sale was scotched by the coronavirus crisis.

Mr Wright and Mr Absolom added: "We consider to prudent to retain all of the options open to us to conclude the administration in due course.

"However at this stage we anticipate the most likely exit route will be via dissolution."

Turnover last year was £1.7million - but this still generated a £700,000 loss.