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Wednesday 20th of December 2006 11:10:00 AM

Italian knitwear, t-shirts and sweatshirts designer Artigiano will have its £18 million management buyout backed by Barclays Private Equity (BPE).

BPE, the private equity arm of Barclays Bank, will take a 65 per cent stake in Scala Collections, Artigiano's holding company, the Daily Telegraph reports.

A management team led by Dagmar Krafft and vendors Claire and Glyn Locke will hold the remaining 35 per cent, the newspaper claims.

Mr and Ms Locke, who founded the company in 1995, will be rolling their investment forward.

The clothing firm trades under two names - Artigiano and Spirito di Artigiano.

Sales for the company, based in the Isle of Wight, for the year ending January 2007 are forecast at around £19.5 million, while underlying profit is expected to hit £3.3 million.

A restructuring drive will take place following the buyout, with Ms Krafft heading the company as chief executive.