The owner of the fashion brand LK Bennett is this weekend racing to find a saviour amid concerns that it could be heading for collapse for the second time in six years.

Sky News has learnt that the clothing chain, which was founded by Linda Bennett in 1990, is working with advisers at Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) on an accelerated sale process.

Industry sources said on Saturday that A&M had begun sounding out potential buyers and investors in the last few days.

At one stage, LK Bennett was among the most recognisable brands on the high street, expanding to 200 branded outlets in the UK and overseas markets including China, Russia and the US.

In its home market it now trades from just nine standalone stores, with a further 13 listed as concessions on its website.

It was unclear whether a sale of the loss-making brand was likely or whether LK Bennett’s existing backers might be prepared to inject more funding into the business.

Contingency plans for an insolvency are frequently drawn up by advisers drafted in to run accelerated sale processes.

The brand is owned by Byland UK, a company established in 2019 for the purpose of rescuing LK Bennett from a previous brush with insolvency.

Byland UK was formed by Rebecca Feng, who ran LK Bennett’s Chinese franchises.

At the time of that deal, Ms Feng said: “Under our plan, the business will continue to operate out of the UK, looking to maintain the long-standing and undoubted heritage of the brand.

“This will be achieved through a combination of working with quality British design, and the business’s existing supply chain.”

Accounts for LK Bennett Fashion for the period ended January 27, 2024 show the company made a post-tax loss of £3.5m on turnover of £42.1m.

The figures showed a steep loss in sales from £48.8m in 2023.

According to the accounts, LK Bennett paid a dividend of £229,000 “at the start of the year when performance was doing well”.

“Given the decline in revenue, the directors do not recommend the payment of any further dividends.”

Ms Bennett founded the eponymous chain by opening a store in Wimbledon, southwest London, in 1990, and promised to “bring a bit of Bond Street to the high street”.

Her eye for design earned her the nickname ‘queen of the kitten heel’ and saw her products worn by the Princess of Wales and Theresa May, the former prime minister.

In 2008, Ms Bennett sold the business for an estimated £100m to a consortium led by the private equity firm Phoenix Equity Partners.

She retained a stake, and then bought back the remaining equity in 2017.

The company’s administration in 2019 resulted in the closure of 15 stores.

It was unclear how many people are now employed by LK Bennett.

LK Bennett has been contacted for comment, while A&M declined to comment.

Former British heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua delivered a dose of reality to YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul as he won their much-anticipated showdown.

Joshua scored three knockdowns before landing a huge right hit on Paul halfway through the sixth round.

The British fighter lifted Paul’s hand in a show of respect after the fight broadcast on the streaming platform Netflix.

“Jake Paul has done really well tonight. I want to give him his props, he got up, time and time again,” he said about his opponent.

Joshua said it “wasn’t the best performance”, adding: “It took a bit longer than expected. But the right hand finally found the destination.”

Meanwhile, Paul said: “I’m feeling good, that was fun. I love this sport. I gave it my all, It’s f****** crazy. I had a blast.

“I got my ass beat, but that’s what this sport is about. I’mma (going to) come back and keep on winning.”

He added: “I just got tired to be honest. He did amazing and hits really hard.”

The fight marked the end of a 14-month hiatus for Joshua, 36, while for 28-year-old Paul it was the biggest fight since his boxing career began in 2020.

At the weigh-in on Friday, Joshua boasted an almost two-stone advantage over Paul, who has regularly fought at cruiserweight since he entered the world of boxing.

Britain’s two-time world heavyweight champion tipped the scales at 243.4lbs (17st 5lbs) for his fight against Paul in Miami, while Paul weighed in at 216lbs (15st 6lbs) – a hefty 1.9st difference.

Joshua, who could not weigh more than 245lbs, is the lightest he has been since his first fight against Oleksandr Usyk in September 2021 when he was 240lbs. For his last fight against Daniel Dubois he weighed 252.5Ibs.

It is also only the second time that Paul weighed in over cruiserweight limit – the other time was when he fought 58-year-old Mike Tyson. Paul defeated Tyson by unanimous decision with 80-72, 79-73, and 79-73.

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David Walliams has been dropped by his publisher HarperCollins UK following allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards women.

A spokesperson for the company said it had decided not to release any new titles by Walliams “after careful consideration, and under the leadership of its new CEO”.

“HarperCollins takes employee well-being extremely seriously and has processes in place for reporting and investigating concerns,” they added.

“To respect the privacy of individuals, we do not comment on internal matters.”

In a statement later on Friday, a spokesperson for the comedian and children’s author said: “David has never been informed of any allegations raised against him by HarperCollins.

“He was not party to any investigation or given any opportunity to answer questions. David strongly denies that he has behaved inappropriately and is taking legal advice.”

It follows a report from The Telegraph that Walliams was dropped after an investigation into allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards young women.

The 54-year-old, who shot to fame with the BBC sketch show Little Britain, is one of the country’s best-selling children’s writers.

He has written more than 40 books, which have sold more than 60 million copies worldwide and been translated into 55 languages, according to his website.

His first children’s book, The Boy in the Dress, was published by HarperCollins in 2008, and he was awarded an OBE in 2017 for services to charity and the arts.

Walliams is also known for Come Fly With Me, another BBC sketch show, and was formerly part of the judging panel for ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent.

He left the show in 2022 after a recording of him making disparaging comments about contestants was leaked.

The remarks were understood to have been both derogatory and sexually explicit, referring to one contestant as a “c***” and saying of another: “She thinks you want to f*** her, but you don’t”.

Walliams later released a statement apologising for the “disrespectful comments” and saying they were private conversations that were never meant to be shared.

HarperCollins UK announced in October that it had appointed Kate Elton as its new chief executive, following the departure of former boss Charlie Redmayne.