British furniture retailer Land of Leather today said it was no longer in takeover talks after rejecting interest from a number of parties.
The Kent-based firm, which has 98 stores in the UK and 11 in the Republic, said potential bids suggested there would be "insufficient value" to the company's already beleaguered shareholders.
Leather revealed on December 1st that it had received a number of "unsolicited expressions of interest" but did not name the parties involved.
Reports last month pointed to turnaround specialist Hilco, which recently failed in its attempt to buy high street retailer Woolworths for £1, and buyout business Sun Europe, which already owns rival furniture retailer ScS Upholstery.
The group is suffering alongside other big ticket retailers from the economic downturn. Total sales orders fell by 47 per cent in the three months to November 2nd.
It added recently: "We expect market conditions to be challenging and uncertain for the remainder of 2008 and 2009 which includes the important January sale period."
Shares, which floated at 149p in 2005, closed at just 9p on Monday, giving it a market capitalisation of around £4.5 million. Despite the slump, Land of Leather said it would protect remaining shareholder value.
It said today: "The company announced on December 1 that it has received a number of unsolicited expressions of interest in the company. The company now announces that early stage discussions suggested that there would be insufficient value to shareholders so talks with potential bidders have been terminated."
In October Land of Leather revealed that its annual pre-tax profits had dived to £2.3 million, down from £18.5 million the previous year, while like-for-like sales orders had fallen by 28.9 per cent. But on the plus side, the company is debt free, and reported £6.9 million of cash.
Agencies