Since launching her own fashion house in 2008, Victoria Beckham has slowly but surely earned the respect of even her harshest critics. Yet the business did not make a profit for 15 years.
It wasn’t until 2023 that Victoria Beckham (the label, not the person) turned a profit with the help of her newly established make-up line. The beauty empire made almost £2 million in its first three months and has continued to drive growth. Only a year earlier, VB was £54 million in debt. As Victoria says herself in hew new three-part Netflix documentary, Victoria Beckham, ‘It was like a snowball that was going down the mountain. There was a lot of waste. We were millions of pounds in the red.’
So, what state is the business in today? And what did Victoria and her husband David Beckham say about the business’ financial difficulties in her recent Netflix documentary?
Kim Kardashian, Anna Wintour, David Beckham, Harper Beckham, Cruz Beckham, Nicola Peltz Beckham and Brooklyn Beckham at the Victoria Beckham SS24 show in 2023. (Photo by Darren Gerrish/Getty Images for Victoria Beckham)
Why did Victoria Beckham’s business struggle?
The Victoria Beckham brand got off to a rocky start with many industry naysayers questioning Victoria’s leap from pop music to high fashion. She has managed to prove herself over the years, with Anna Wintour, Tom Ford and Donatella Versace but a few of the talking heads in her Netflix documentary, but until recently the money has failed to follow.
In 2018, the business was losing £4,000 a day. The following November, the BBC reported that ‘Victoria Beckham’s fashion business has posted another annual loss as demand for the former Spice Girl’s high-end clothes “plateaued”’. In 2018, the company reported a loss of £12.3 million and sales dropped by 16%.
How much did Victoria and David lose on the Victoria Beckham brand?
In 2022, it was reported that the fashion label was £54 million in debt. The total losses since the VB brand launched reached £66 million.
Did David Beckham bail Victoria Beckham out?
In 2016, it was reported that David had helped his wife out by lending £5.2 million. However, David and Victoria are equal shareholders of Beckham Brand Holdings Ltd which is also owned by Simon Fuller’s XIX. ‘These businesses may be funded in different ways at any point in time, which may entrail a mixture of bank debt, inter-company loans or equity investment.’
In 2017, accounts showed another company they jointly own was owed £12.2 million by Victoria Beckham Ltd. In 2019, there were reports from The Mirror saying David helped Victoria’s business with a £23 million bailout after losses of £10 million. His company DB Ventures gave her a £6.6 million cash injection and guaranteed a loan of £4 million.
Over the past 15 years, the luxury brand has borrowed more than £30 million from other parts of the Beckham empire.
‘There was a lot of money being spent that should never have been spent,’ Victoria admits at the end of episode two of her docu-series. ‘The losses were so, so big. David was investing… a lot.’
‘It made me panic,’ adds David, ‘I was panicked by it because I never saw anything coming back. We always agreed that we would support each other no matter what, but it worried me. This isn’t sustainable.’
Eva Longoria, Nicola Peltz Beckham, Brooklyn Beckham, Cruz Beckham, Edward Enninful, Harper Beckham, David Beckham and Anna Wintour at the VB FW23 show during Paris fashion week in 2023. (Photo by Darren Gerrish/WireImage for Victoria Beckham)
‘It was like a snowball,’ Victoria reflects, ‘that was going down the mountain. There was a lot of waste. We were millions of pounds in the red. I didn’t know what to do and I was so desperate to save this business that I cared so much about. I felt, if I’m being completely honest, that I was breaking down myself. I knew it was public knowledge. I felt embarrassed, but it’s fact. It’s fact. It wasn’t an opinion. It wasn’t anyone being unkind. It was a fact and I had to take it on the chin. I was in a hole and I felt like I was in quicksand.’
Is Victoria Beckham still in debt?
In August, it was announced that David and Victoria Beckham and the private equity firm Neo invested a further £6.2 million into the Victoria Beckham brand as losses widened to almost £5m.
However, the business’ net liabilities are £29.7m, which is almost £10m less than they were the year before. Sales rose 26.5% to £112.7m in 2024, the brand’s fourth consecutive year of growth. This was reportedly buoyed by strong sales at the flagship London store as well as a 24% leap in online sales of cosmetics and accessories, particularly hand bags.
Nikki Peach is a senior writer at Grazia UK, working across news, entertainment, features. She has also written for the i, i-D and the New Statesman Media Group and covers all things pop culture for Grazia (treating high and lowbrow with equal respect).
