Mike Ashley plays at the eleventh hour for Debenhams

Mike Ashley’s Frasers group has started talks over a possible last-minute bailout of Debenhams, marking the billionaire’s second attempt to buy the distressed UK department store chain.

The 200-year-old retailer, which employs 12,000 people, is expected to be liquidated next year after the group’s failed sales efforts to JD Sports last week.

Mr Ashley, who was previously seen as a potential buyer of some stores in the Debenhams estate, has now relaunched attempts to buy the business, according to two people with direct knowledge of the negotiations.

The retail billionaire, whose company also owns Sports Direct and Evans Cycles, previously owned nearly a third of Debenhams shares but was forced to write off around £ 150million when the company closed. was put under administration last year.

His bailout offer for the department store group was rejected at the time. He described it as a “national scandal” and has since raged on the sidelines.

The new talks between Frasers and the Debenhams liquidators, first reported by The Sunday Times, are proceeding “in good faith” despite the public war of words, according to a person with direct knowledge of the talks.

The re-emergence of Mr Ashley, who owns rival department store chain House of Fraser, as a potential buyer of Debenhams following the end of JD Sports talks, could potentially save thousands of jobs.

Chris Wootton, CFO of Frasers, told the Sunday Times: “We hope we can save as many jobs as possible.” But he added that the collapse of Arcadia, whose brands such as Dorothy Perkins have a strong presence in Debenhams stores, and concerns over business rates could make a deal “a bridge too far.” He declined to comment further when contacted by the Financial Times on Sunday.

FRP Advisory, the administrator of Debenhams, has been approached by other interested parties, according to a person familiar with the liquidation, but it is not known whether this affects the entire company or individual sites or assets. .

Along with Debenhams’ 124 stores, which could be selected by competitors including Frasers, the chain’s assets include its website, inventory, private labels and Danish business Magasin du Nord.

The retailer, which generated £ 1.8bn in UK sales in its last year as a listed company but has been hit hard by the closure of Britain’s High Street during the pandemic, will continue to trade until Christmas with heavily discounted offers.

This means that the value of the business – estimated at between £ 200m and £ 300m – could vary depending on its remaining stock levels and online success over the period.

Debenhams declined to comment.

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