Austin Reed said it should not be affected by the financial troubles at Dawnay Day, which was involved in buying the fashion retailer in January last year.

The heads of Dawnay Day, Guy Naggar and Peter Klimt, hold personal shareholdings in the company and Austin Reed said this means the company should remain unaffected.

Dawnay Day was forced to call in Ernst &Young after losing money on many of its businesses and failing to raise last-minute recovery funds.

Austin Reed chief executive Nick Hollingworth said: “I should make it clear that we are not owned by Dawnay Day itself, but by individuals and are a separate independent company with its own banking facility.”

Despite Austin Reed distancing itself from the troubles at Dawnay Day, speculation has begun to mount that Austin Reed’s owners could put the business up for sale to raise money.