Esprit Europe GmbH and six other German companies of the fashion group will file for insolvency under self-administration on Wednesday, the company said, as Hong Kong-listed apparel group Esprit Holdings seeks to restructure its European business.

This is the second insolvency procedure within four years for Esprit, which had laid off around a third of its workforce and closed 100 branches during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company had filed for bankruptcy in Belgium and Switzerland in March.

Business operations will continue “until further notice,” the group said, adding around 1500 employees would be directly affected by the insolvency.

A financial investor has expressed interest in significant parts of Esprit’s assets, the group said, with talks on the acquisition of the brand rights for Europe being already at an advanced stage.

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• Reporting by Alexander Huebner, writing by Linda Pasquini, editing by Andrey Sychev, of Reuters.