French Sole, which sells ballet-style shoes beloved of the Duchess of Cambridge, is opening its first franchised stores in Asia in a prelude to further international expansion for the privately-owned British business.

The retailer, which was founded by shoe designer Jane Winkworth 22 years ago, has opened a store in Kuala Lumpur through a deal with lawyer Shea Pin Soo, who already holds the Anya Hindmarch franchise in Malaysia. Three further outlets are planned in the country.

French Sole is expected to sign more franchise deals in Asia and the Middle East. Kim Winser, who spent 20 years at Marks and Spencer, is a special adviser to the business and is helping it to develop internationally.

Ms Winser said she believed the brand had significant international potential. There are a few British businesses that have global appeal, and French Sole is absolutely one of those. It has a special personality, and really offers something different to the international market, said Ms Winser, who has a strong track record of energising British brands including Pringle, Aquascutum and Agent Provocateur.

Ms Winkworth said she saw a huge amount of potential in Asia and the Middle East, she said, noting a recent surge of interest in the brand from China.

French Sole, which has four shops in London, is also looking to open a wholly-owned store in Paris. It already has two stores in the US under the London Sole label, a sister company selling a younger, edgier, collection. Their shoes are also sold in about 400 outlets around the world.

French Sole expansion underlines the demand in Asia for British luxury brands, with consumers in the region also snapping up products from Burberry and Mulberry.

Ms Winkworth, who owns 60 per cent of the business with her two sons owning the remainder, started selling ballet pumps, at the time only available in the south of France, at table top fairs in the 1980s to raise money for charity. She realised she had something quite hot on my hands when she sold out of all her stock in the first two hours.

After continuing with charity sales, she branched out into a mail order catalogue, run from her home in Chelsea. But her big break came in 1993 when Princess Diana bought 12 pairs of her shoes and became a regular customer. Today, the business counts the Duchess of Cambridge alongside a roster of celebrity clients including Madonna, Kate Moss and Angelina Jolie.

All French Sole shoes are made in its own factory just outside Alicante in Spain.