MR JOHN Carway, the businessman at the centre of the CountyGlen affair, has been linked with a possible £200 million takeover of the privately owned British retail group, Facia. Mr Carway "effected certain introductions" between Facia and US company Texas American group, which is quoted on NASDAQ, but run from London, according to weekend newspaper reports.

Facia owns the Saxone shoeshop chain and the Sock Shop chain. It also owns Freeman, Hardy Willis and Salisbury. A reverse takeover by Texas American would help refinance the group. The largest shareholder in Texas American is Capital Investment Corporation. It is based in the South Pacific tax haven of the Cook Islands and owns 29 per cent of the company.

The British Department of Trade and Industry is seeking to have the owner of Facia, Mr Stephen Hinchliffe, banned from being a company director. The action relates to his involvement in a tennis court company which collapsed in 1994. Mr Hinchliffe has said he will defend the action.

Mr Carway could not be contacted at his base in Killaloe, Co Clare last night. However, he has said that he was not involved in any deal with Mr Hinchcliffe.

According to a report in the Observer, a former director of Verit Industries, the US company run by Mr Carway which is now bankrupt, is listed as the president of Texas American. A Portuguese hotel owned by Verit is understood to have been bought by Texas American for 125 million shares in December.

An investigation into the affairs of the quoted property company CountyGlen concluded that Mr Carway was the central figure in a £1 million fraud at the company.

Mr Carway has always disputed the findings of the report and a legal action for damages taken against Mr Carway by CountyGlen was settled last month.