Jil Sander, the minimalist fashion label, was sold for more than £135 million to Japan’s largest clothing group yesterday in the latest sign that the luxury market is proving immune to the economic slowdown.

Onward Holdings, the Tokyo-based business that owns Joseph in the UK, said that it was paying €167 million (£135.4 million) for the label in its latest European acquisition. The deal represents a significant profit for Change Capital Partners, the private equity group founded by Luc Vandevelde, the former chairman and chief executive of Marks & Spencer. Change Capital bought Jil Sander from Prada only two years ago for an undisclosed sum thought to be about €60 million.

Mr Vandevelde told The Times: “Our original plan was to sell the business in 2010-11, but this was too good a price to turn down. The buyers believe in the future of the brand.”

The sale comes as luxury labels defy one of the worse spending slumps for years. Sales at Harrods are up by more than 10 per cent on last year, while an £11,000 handbag has been one of Burberry’s top-sellers.

Last week Hermès, of France, and Gucci and Tod’s, both of Italy, published earnings that met or exceeded market expectations after double-digit sales growth in the first half of the year. Much of the growth has been down to record demand in markets such as Russia, China and India.

In a separate move yesterday, LVMH said that it was in talks to buy Royal van Lent, the Dutch-based luxury yacht builder that counts Roman Abramovich as a customer. Its yachts sell for about €30 million each. Worldwide orders for custom-built luxury yachts have been growing at 20 per cent a year since 2000.

Jil Sander started her fashion business in Germany in 1973 and it became one of the benchmark labels of the minimalist 1990s. Ms Sander sold her company to Prada in 1999 and left five months later after falling out with Patrizio Bertelli, the Prada chief executive. She returned briefly in 2004.

The business ran up losses of €12.9 million two years ago before it was bought by Change Capital in April 2006. It reported underlying earnings of €6.1 million last year after a spate of new store openings in London, Japan, Germany and Italy.

Change Capital has also built up Jil Sander’s wholesale business in America and Japan and cut costs by closing its office in Hamburg. The brand is now run out of Milan and has 61 shops worldwide. Annual sales are expected to hit €470 million this year.

Rothschild, the investment bank, was brought in to run an auction after the private equity group received a number of approaches.

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