Department store business Beales was in takeover talks last year, but walked away just before Christmas, said chief executive Allan Allkins.
The retailer has previously been linked to Hoopers, a rival department store group whose subsidiary has a near 25 per cent holding in Beales.
'Consolidation in the sector is understandable given the cost pressures,' said Allkins, who was previously managing director of Hoopers. He declined to name the other retailer involved in the discussions, but admitted there is 'undeniable' synergy with Hoopers. Allkins added: 'If you ask are we still acquisitive, the answer would be yes.'
For the 52 weeks to November 2, Beales increased sales by 13.5 per cent to£88.6 million. However, like-for-likes were up just 1 per cent and pre-tax profit slumped 34 per cent to£2.5 million.
Margin fell 0.63 percentage points, mainly because of the impact of the three stores acquired from Bentalls last year. Allkins added: 'We have reorganised buying and are focusing attention on assortment issues.'
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