Hogan Lovells acts for buyout house Kelso Place on acquisition of Nicole Farhi retail line

Hogan Lovells and Browne Jacobson have taken lead roles on private equity group Kelso Place Asset Management's acquisition of a majority stake in fashion brand Nicole Farhi.

Kelso Place has purchased the stake from OpenGate Capital, which has owned the fashion label for less than two years, after acquiring it for £5m in March 2010. The resale value is undisclosed, but is understood to value the company in excess of £5m.

Hogan Lovells advised the acquirers with a team led by City private equity partner Amit Nayyar, while Midlands-based law firm Browne Jacobson advised the seller, fielding a team headed by corporate partner Mark Hughes.

The deal, which comes after Kelso Place sold British luxury leather goods company Smythson in 2009, will see Nicole Farhi retained as creative director and Niki Scordi kept on as chief executive for the next phase of expansion, which will focus primarily on the Asian market. Kelso Place has pledged to invest up to £15m into the brand over the next five years.

Hogan Lovells' Nayyar said: "We are pleased to have advised longstanding client Kelso Place on this important investment which, with their experience in the luxury fashions brands sector, should be a very successful collaboration."

The news comes less than two years after OpenGate acquired Nicole Farhi from French Connection in a deal that saw City firm Maxwell Winward advise OpenGate, while Osborne Clarke acted for French Connection. Osborne corporate partner and co-head of retail Kalpesh Tanna led the firm's team on the deal.

The Nicole Farhi brand, which was set up in 1982 within the French Connection group, is now sold in 40 countries around the world.

Related: OC makes French Connection with debut role on private equity sell-off