The group reported a 5.2 per cent slide in like-for-like sales over the past 18 weeks, down considerably from the 2.6 per cent decline during the first half.

Simon Berwin, managing director of Leeds-based suitmaker Berwin & Berwin, who bought Sir Philip Green's 28.5 per cent stake in the business last week, said the downturn had not come as a surprise.

"We are definitely a long-term investor," he said. "We were really concerned about all the changes at Moss Bros and wanted to contribute towards its stability."

Mr Berwin, who paid £7.7m for his stake, said he has no plans to launch a full takeover, but is hoping to join the board once he meets senior executives.

Moss Bros shares tumbled eight per cent to close the day down 1.5p at 17.25p last night after the shares rallied slightly as the day progressed.

The company said the challenging conditions in the retail sector were likely to have a "material adverse impact" on market expectations for its full-year profits.

It stressed that the bulk of the crucial Christmas trading period is still to come and chief executive Philip Mountford said the group would now focus on reducing costs in the business.

The company declined to say whether the cost cuts would include job losses.

"Our sales performance in the last two months reflects the very tough trading conditions in our markets," said Mr Mountford. "The business is ever-vigilant to opportunities to reduce costs and maximise cash flow and proactively take steps to drive sales in what we expect to continue to be a challenging retail market."

Moss Bros, which was founded in 1851, has struggled in recent trading with pre-tax losses of £1.6m in the six months to July 26.

Retail tycoon Sir Philip, the Topshop and Burton billionaire, bought the stake in Moss Bros last month and made a profit of £1.05m before dealing fees when it was sold to Mr Berwin.

Mr Berwin now has a 29.9 per cent holding in Moss Bros, having sold some of the shares he previously owned in order to avoid the 30 per cent threshold when an investor has to launch a full takeover bid.

Berwin & Berwin, which began trading in 1885, has sales of around £55m a year and produces 18,000 suits a week.

Mr Berwin said that following his meeting with Sir Philip, Berwin & Berwin could produce some suits for Topman. "We have opened lines of communication with Sir Philip," he said.

Sir Philip sold his stake last week after deciding not to launch a takeover bid.

House broker Altium cut its current year forecast for Moss Bros from an underlying loss of 1m to a loss of 5m.

Moss Bros said sales in the 44 weeks to November 29 were down 3.6 per cent on a like for like basis, which strips out the impact of new space, and total sales had dropped 3.7 per cent in the period.

The company, which specialises in men's suits and tailoring, said it had maintained strong cash balances.

It added that year-to-date gross margin is "ahead of last year" despite pricing pressures, saying that it has maintained a strong average cash balance.

Many retailers are struggling with intense competition and a downturn in consumer spending at a time of sliding house prices, rising unemployment and fears the country has already entered recession.


Five generations of tailoring

Berwin & Berwin was founded in 1885 by Barnett Berwin, a Russian tailor who moved to Leeds in 1907.

After working for John Barran, Barnett started his own business in 1920 and the introduction of his three sons, Louis, Ted and Jack turned it into a family run business – a tradition which has continued over five generations, to the present day.

In the Second World War the company was selected to make high quality uniforms for United States Army officers.

Barnett's grandson Malcolm joined the business in 1951 and still plays an active role as company president.

He injected modern management and production techniques and three small factories were combined into one modern unit at Roseville Road, Leeds in 1971 – still the headquarters of Berwin & Berwin today.

The company's current managing director, Simon Berwin, joined in 1973. The company supplies Ted Baker and Next.