Luxury Briefing.

A look through our annual Who Owns What survey reveals a significant number of luxury brands owned by private equity or venture capital companies. Why might this be a good strategy, from the point of view of both the brand and the private equity/venture capital company? To shed more light on this area, we turned to Muriel Zingraff, former Director of New Product Development and Licensing at Jimmy Choo, who is now a senior adviser at 3i Group which recently acquired a significant stake in Agent Provocateur. We put some of the key questions to her

The Meta collection of contemporary furniture and objects was instigated by none other than a 150-year-old traditional antiques house, Mallett. The antithesis of machine-age production, Meta is proof that quality, attention to detail and thoughtful selection of materials and construction is as desirable today as it was in the past. KATE PATRICK takes up the story

Having made his name as co-Founder of the Manhattan Loft Corporation, property maverick John Hitchcox set up Yoo with Philippe Starck in 2001. A hybrid between development and design, Yoo taps into current desires for both branded design and convenience. The business has flourished and now operates at the top of the residential sales and rental markets in 21 countries worldwide.

Thomas Lyte is building its reputation as a supporter of artisans. Having acquired a struggling silver workshop in Essex, the...

Smythson is one of the raft of luxury brands currently getting a piece of the art scene action. It has recently...