Hop Lun, one of biggest lingerie manufacturers, up up for sale

The entrepreneur behind one of the world’s biggest lingerie manufacturers is putting his business up for sale. 

Erik Ryd founded Hop Lun in 1993. It makes 94m pieces of lingerie a year including bras for Marks and Spencer, Rihanna and H&M. 

After his children refused to take over the £350m firm, the 60-year-old Swede said he will sell up. 

The Hong Kong-based manufacturer prospered through Covid as new online brands sought a supplier. 

The firm was also helped by a shift toward more comfortable underwear and activewear. 

Ryd said sales in 2021 jumped by a fifth from £301m to £370m and will top £500m this year. 

He plans new factories to bring manufacturing closer to where his bras are sold to ‘avoid some of the logistical drama and costs’. 

But in an interview with the Financial Times he said he is ‘getting old’ and so plans to cash in.