Italian lingerie brand La Perla will remain linked to its home town, Bologna, and its dedicated workers. The Italian Ministry for Business (Mimit) has said that La Perla’s future buyer will have to acquire all company assets, including the trademark owned by a British holding company, and the Bologna factory. Mimit has reached a deal that harmonises the four legal procedures relating to the luxury lingerie brand’s future existence.

Negotiations have been ongoing for months, to solve the knotty legal issues involving the Bologna factory, currently in administration, and a holding company, La Perla Global Management UK, which is being liquidated both in Italy and the UK. Before the summer, Mimit Minister Adolfo Urso stated that a new round of negotiations would start in September, and continue until a deal was struck. The initial outcome was a temporary agreement that enabled La Perla to restart production, but with no assurances that the entire group’s assets would be sold off jointly at a later date.

The stalemate was broken towards the end of 2024, after months of pressure applied by the unions. Following a meeting in Rome, with negotiations still partly under way, Mimit has now announced that all La Perla assets will have to be sold to a single buyer. A call for tenders will be issued soon, most likely by the end of January.

“We’ve managed to achieve a result that was by no means a foregone conclusion, one that is set to become a case study,” said Urso. He added he is “extremely pleased with this important agreement, for which I would like to thank the Italian administrators and the Italian and British liquidators, whose work allows us to ensure the [La Perla] brand will remain connected with its workers’ expertise.” He went on to say that “this is the most appropriate way to save the company and relaunch a made-in-Italy icon.”

The case involving La Perla Global Management UK is the first example of a cross-border judicial liquidation since Brexit. It’s an unprecedented legal case, complicated by the long-established lingerie brand’s corporate structure, with manufacturing based in Bologna while the trademark is registered in Rome.

“Right now, we must thank all those who have fought for years to achieve this outcome, starting with the workers, the trade unions, and the authorities,” said Giovanni Paglia, the Emilia-Romagna region’s labour relations councillor, during the negotiation sessions at Mimit. “The deal doesn’t include 11 La Perla Italia employees working in the brand’s stores, but the ministry is committed to leaving no one behind,” added Paglia.

The unions have expressed their satisfaction. “Credit for this important step forward goes to the workers at La Perla who, with their engagement and determination, have fought to stop the business from being broken up, and to ensure the future of ‘their’ company,” said the Filctem-Cgil and Uiltec unions. “We now believe it is essential to quickly issue a call for tenders that will safeguard all employees, the company’s most valuable asset,” they added.