Following the news that Spectre Holdings, the Dubai based company owned by Philip Day of Edinburgh Woollen Mills, has bought the majority of shares in Bonmarché and is making an offer for the remaining shares, Maureen Hinton, Global Retail Research Director at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view:

“This is an excellent result for Bonmarché, which is struggling following profit warnings and a challenging market. It rejoins its former sister company Jane Norman which Day saved several years ago and continues to trade. Being taken out of constant City reporting and scrutiny will allow the retailer to take a long term view of the business and benefit from the shared assets of the Edinburgh Woollen Mills group. It must be a relief for management, though the offer for shareholders at 11.445p per share is way below the c120p of last summer is not such a relief. But a recovery in the share price was going to be very challenging”.