PARIS (Reuters) -Stella McCartney is repurchasing the minority stake held by LVMH in the house she founded about five years after the luxury group bought it, LVMH and Stella McCartney said in a statement on Monday.

McCartney will continue to advise LVMH chief executive Bernard Arnault and the group's executive team on sustainability issues as a Global Ambassador on Sustainability, they said.

The designer, whose label was previously linked to LVMH's cross town rival, Gucci-owner Kering, surprised the fashion world when her namesake brand left Kering to team up with LVMH in 2019.

The announcement comes as the luxury industry faces a downturn, with many smaller brands struggling more than bigger brands catering to wealthier and older shoppers with more purchasing power.

McCartney, daughter of the Beatles' Paul McCartney, launched her eponymous label in partnership with the Gucci Group, then a division of what is now Kering, in 2001. Kering helped McCarthy develop her brand over 17 years, with the partnership ending in March 2019 when she bought back her 50% stake.

(Reporting by Makini Brice and Mimosa Spencer)