The low-key businessman behind Britain's hippest fashion brands

WHEN Alexa Chung, the 33-year-old model, television host, design collaborator and girl-about-London, announced last summer that she would introduce a fashion line this spring, she refused to reveal the name of her backer. In fact, she told news outlets that she had been explicitly instructed not to do so.

But in fashion, nothing stays secret for long.

The man behind the brand is Peter Dubens, 50, the co-founder and managing partner of Oakley Capital Private Equity, a mid-market company based in London that oversees assets of more than US$1.7 billion.

He is considered one of Britain's most successful investors and entrepreneurs, and has his hand in such bu…