The owner of fashion chains Whistles and Phase Eight is in advanced talks to buy White Stuff, another prominent high street clothing retailer.
Sky News has learnt that The Foschini Group (TFG), the South African-based retailer, is close to concluding a deal to acquire White Stuff and invest in its future expansion.
Sources said a deal could be struck within days, delivering a windfall payout to the chain’s two founders.
They cautioned that a formal agreement had yet to be reached, adding that a number of other parties had also been pursuing White Stuff in recent months.
Foschini, which has a British subsidiary called TFG London, also owns Hobbs and Damsel in a Dress.
A Foschini shop in Johannesburg, South Africa. Pic: Reuters
The price under discussion was unclear on Wednesday evening, although Sky News reported earlier this year an analyst’s estimate that White Stuff could be worth in the region of £50m.
George Treves and Sean Thomas, who founded White Stuff in 1985, have built it into a premium fashion business with more than 100 stores.
It employs more than 1,200 people.
It was unclear whether they would sign a deal in time to avoid any increase in capital gains tax imposed by Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, in her budget next week.
Rothschild, the investment bank, was hired by the pair in February following the receipt of an unsolicited approach from a prospective buyer.
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White Stuff is run by Jo Jenkins, who ran the clothing and beauty operations of Marks & Spencer until she quit to join the company in 2017.
White Stuff now has partnerships with retail giants including M&S, John Lewis and Next.
It is wholly owned by its founders, who began their partnership by selling t-shirts door-to-door.
Selling menswear and womenswear, it now boasts more than 500 stockists around the world.
TFG and White Stuff both declined to comment.