New funding is being sought for Borders UK, which could result in a possible sale.

The retailer, owned by Luke Johnson’s Risk Capital Partners, declined to comment on speculation that an adviser had been appointed to oversee a full sale of the business, although sources close to the situation said that Clearwater Corporate Finance is handling a possible sale.

A spokesperson for Borders UK said: “Following the successful completion of a series of major structural changes in 2008, when Borders UK invested in new IT systems, a new supply chain, disposal of underperforming stores and the launch of a transactional website, we are now well-placed to explore opportunities to take new retail space and develop new trading relationships at a time of significant format change in the products we sell.  

“Consequently, Borders UK has appointed an adviser to seek out funding opportunities. We will be keeping our staff and suppliers fully appraised of this activity.” 

In recent weeks Borders UK has appointed RSM Bentley Jennison to oversee a restructure of its store portfolio and has made a series of redundancies at head office in the past 12 months.

Clearwater Corporate Finance was unavailable for comment.