The failed sale of Matalan yesterday came as little surprise to many.

Its hefty price tag had put off buyers and although appetite had seemingly returned in the private equity world for retail deals Matalan’s menu proved a little too rich to digest.

Questions are now naturally being asked if this is a warning shot to New Look and Supergroup who are both targeting successful IPOs. It may signal that investors are not as open to retail as movement at the start of this year suggested they might be.

However each of these deals need to be judged on an their individual merits- Pets at Home and Matalan were both priced at around 10 times earnings and Pets was snapped up with seemingly little resistance. But the pet specialist is a very different story and has a very comfortable niche that many of the fashion players cannot claim.

Supergroup seems, out of all companies looking for a sale or float, to have the most obvious growth story.

New Look is pushing its international growth as a major selling point, Matalan’s growth story however seems less clear.

It is a strong business - and currently has a great opportunity to take advantage of the consumer’s move towards value – but with 203 stores it has limited portfolio expansion opportunities and has some very tough competition from the supermarkets and the ever forceful Primark.

So what now?

Refinancing? Wait a few years till the economic climate is stronger? That will be for founder John Hargreaves to decide. The story of this sale process will also be one for other retailers looking at their own potential sale to judge and decide what is a fair price and what is the market really willing to pay in an economy that may be technically out of the recession, but is a long way off being comfortable or buoyant.

Sports Direct victory could be short lived

Sports Direct has continued to enjoy positive trading and will also be cheered that one of the many investigations against them seems to be coming to a close with no foul play found.

The Competition Commission has provisionally cleared the sports retailer regarding its acquisition of 31 JJB Sports stores.

This is only a small victory for the retailers who is still facing Office of Fair Trading and Serious Fraud investigations and is understood to have lined up hot shot criminal John Kelsey Fry to represent Mike Ashley if the investigations lead to a trial. That, along with the appointment of a former police chief as chairman indicates that they are certainly taking the investigations seriously and that there may be a lot more to come in the ongoing sports saga.