Bonmarche is set to be taken over in a £5.7m deal

Troubled retailer Bonmarche is to be taken over by Philip Day in a £5.7m deal of the clothing company.

Billionaire Day owns The Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group, he owns more than half of the shares in Bonmarche and this has triggered a mandatory takeover bid.

Day is dealing with holding company Spectre and he bought more than 26m shares giving him 52.4% of the retailer.

Early morning trading saw shares were down 15.7% at 15p.

In a statement relating to the takeover offer, Spectre said, “Against the backdrop of the significant decline in Bonmarche’s profitability, Spectre believes it is well positioned to provide advice, guidance and support to secure the long-term future of the Bonmarche business, its stores and employees.

“The owner of Spectre, Philip Day, has a successful track record within the retail sector, especially in turnaround and distressed situations.”

Maureen Hinton, global retail research director at GlobalData said, “This is an excellent result for Bonmarche, 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 Mill group.