Matalan calls off process that may have led to sale

Matalan said in a statement it had closed down the potential sale process for the business, without giving a reason.

However, a source close to the sale discussions said offers that came in were not high enough to tempt Hargreaves, who took the firm private for 817m in 2006.

Private equity houses including CVC, TPG and Advent International all registered an interest in making a bid for Matalan last year, sources said. However, they baulked at an asking price of around 1.5bn, according to reports. Matalan brought in Goldman Sachs in December to run the sale process alongside PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Last month the firm posted strong trading for the Christmas period.